Draw Blood
by yamtt
Summary: FINISHED Yugi took another step forward and saw something white in the shadows. He squinted his eyes and looked forward. Suddenly, as he took one more step, he realized what, or rather, who it was. “It’s Bakura!” Yugi cried as he looked at the white haire
1. Default Chapter

Yet another one of my old, old stories. This is one I actually have FINISHED though. WOW. Anywho. If you wanna know about the OCs, go to my bio. Don't own YGO . . . ;; But I do own Chaos and Tazi. They're mine. So back off. XP And bloody Document Manager is driving me nuts. !

Yugi Mutou was walking down one of the many sidewalks of Domino. He had just gotten out of school and was making his daily walk home. He had planned on going to the arcade with Joey and Tristan, but they had been throwing paper wads at each other during the last class and were assigned mop duty after school. Tea was at ballet lessons, Ryou had been home with the flu, and Tazi didn't have time to go to the arcade because she had to do some grocery shopping. Since everyone was busy, Yugi was currently walking along and mentally talking to his yami.

/So,/ Yugi said as he looked in a shop window. /What do you wanna do when we get home?/

Do you have homework?Yami asked.

/Some, but it's only History. It won't take that long,/ Yugi replied as he tucked his thumbs under the straps of his backpack. /Why?/

I think you should do it first, then we can have fun.

/Yaaammmii,/ Yugi whined. /You're all work and no play. You know that?/

I am not!Yami protested. I believe school work is important, that's all.

/Yeah,/ Yugi said. /Whatever you say, Yami. I'm here when you're ready to admit that you're a workaholic./

Aibou,Yami sighed. I'm not a 'workaholic'. I just want you to get good grades.

/I am getting good grades./

I meant I want you to keep getting good grades.

As Yugi walked past the alley he passed everyday when he was either halfway home, or halfway to school, he felt something tug at his mind. The tri-color haired boy stopped and looked into the dark alley. Something was not right.

What is it, Yugi?Yami asked from within his soul room.

/I'm not sure,/ Yugi said as he took a step forward. /I'm gonna check it out./

Be careful.

Yugi took another step forward and saw something white in the shadows. He squinted his eyes and looked forward. Suddenly, as he took one more step, he realized what, or rather, who it was.

"It's Bakura!" Yugi cried as he looked at the white haired thief laying on the ground.

What?Yami asked incredulously.

/He's been stabbed!/ Yugi said with concern. /I'm not sure if he's alive./

Good riddance,Yami said. He could sense his aibou's concern and fear, but he couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark about his rival.

/I know you don't mean that,/ Yugi said with some aggravation. He wished that his yami could be a little nicer towards the other Egyptian.

What makes you think I don't?Yami asked as he stood in his soul room.

/I think you'd miss Bakura if he were gone,/ Yugi said as dug into his pocket for some change. /Now stay here with him while I call an ambulance./

Okay, okay,Yami said as he came out of the Millennium Puzzle and stood beside his aibou. Yugi then ran out of the alley to the payphone that was just down the street.

Yami looked down at the fallen Bakura. 'Yugi wasn't kidding,' he thought as he saw the knife wound in the thief's middle. A red spot had stained most of the front of the white haired teen's white shirt. Yami knelt down at Bakura's side and felt a little regret. He hated to admit it, but Yugi was right, he would miss the stupid grave robber if he was gone.

The once Pharaoh leaned forward and shook Bakura a little. "Bakura?" he whispered. "Come on, you stupid tomb robber, wake up." The young man's head rolled and fell back. Yami felt his eyes sting. Could Bakura really be gone? Had someone really gotten the best of him?

"Darn it, Tomb Robber!" Yami cried as smacked him across the cheek with only a little force. "Answer me!" Yami laid his head down on Bakura's chest and pressed his ear over where the thief's heart would be. Carefully, he listened for a heartbeat.

"Sorry, Pharaoh," a rough voice cracked. "But I just don't feel that way about you."

Yami shot his head up and looked down at the tomb robber. "You're alive!"

"Duh," came another weak reply. Bakura stirred a little as he weakly opened his eyes. Then, he coughed a couple a times and moaned. Yami looked down at him and sighed.

"You'd joke on your death bed if you thought it'd tick me off," Yami growled. Bakura gave a small sneer before wincing in pain. "Now, lets see what I can do." Yami looked back down at the other's wound. It was obvious that he'd lost a lot of blood, maybe too much.

As he was about to take off his jacket when the other yami grabbed a fistful of it and pulled him forward. "He's coming for you next, Pharaoh," Bakura gasped. "You, then Chaos . . . He won't stop . . . Not until we're all dead." Bakura began to cough again and a little blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Yami put a hand over Bakura's and gently pried it off his jacket. "Who, Bakura? Who's coming after me?" Bakura struggled for breath.

"The guy . . . The guy who got me," he whispered. "He told me that he'd kill us all."

"Is he after our Millennium Items?" Yami asked as he took off his coat. He wrapped it up and put it under Bakura's head. He wanted to keep him from straining himself by looking up.

"No," Bakura croaked. "He wants nothing but us dead." He coughed a couple more times and then moaned. Darkness was creeping up on him, and he couldn't fight it. "Watch your back . . ."

"Bakura?" Yami said as he watched the thief's eyes close. "Bakura?!" He quickly checked a pulse and sighed when he found one. The tri-color haired teen didn't know exactly all he probably should have, but Bakura had at least warned him.

Yugi ran back into the alley and found his yami kneeling next to the unconscious thief. "I called for an ambulance," Yugi said softly. "It should be here in a few minutes." Yami didn't respond, he seemed to be lost in thought.

"And I called Grampa to tell him that we wouldn't be home for a while yet." Yami nodded, which relieved Yugi because he had responded. His darker half stood up and wiped the blood off his hands on his pants. They then both heard sirens.

The ambulance pulled up and paramedics came out with a stretcher. Yami pulled Yugi back as he stepped out of the way and watched solemnly as they put Bakura on the stretcher and began to carry him towards the ambulance.

"Get in the ambulance with them, aibou," Yami told Yugi softly as he put a hand on his shoulder. Yugi looked up at him with his big, violet eyes.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'm going to go tell Ryou what happened, then I'll bring him to the hospital. Now go on, Yugi," Yami said as he gave him a little nudge forward. Yugi gave him one final look and nodded, then trotted over to the ambulance and climbed in.

As soon as they were gone, Yami began to make his way out of the alley. His foot hit a small box and sent it across the alley way. Yami only gave the Tylenol box a moment's glance before taking off down the street back towards the school.

'Why does Ryou have to live halfway across town?' Yami asked himself as he saw the school coming up after a few minutes of running. After he passed the school, it would only be a few more blocks to Ryou's. He felt sweat run down the side of his face and he quickly wiped it away.

As he passed Domino High, he saw a few students in boys' uniforms walking out. The ancient Egyptian paid them no heed. He had to get to Ryou's, then Tazi's.

"Hey, Yami!" a familiar Brooklyn accent called out. "What's the rush?"

"Yeah!" another familiar voice called. "Where's the fire?"

Yami skidded to a halt and looked back to see Joey and Tristan running to catch up with him. When they did finally catch up with him, they saw the unusual distressed look on their friend's face. This was something they hadn't really seen, before.

"What's wrong, man?" Joey asked.

"Something happened to Bakura," Yami explained as he tried to catch his breath. "And I need to get to Ryou's."

"We'll come with ya," Tristan said as everything began to sink in. He'd never cared much for Bakura, but he was an all right guy these days and Ryou was his friend. So together, they ran down the remaining blocks to Ryou's house.

They stopped running once they reached the walkway and Yami stopped completely. "Do you think you could do me a favor?" he asked as he looked at them both.

"Sure, Yami," Tristan said.

"Yeah," Joey agreed. "Whatcha need from us?"

"Go down to Tazi's and see if Chaos is home," Yami said as he pointed down the street. The Tashanazi residence was only two blocks away. "If she is, tell her to come down."

"Sure," Tristan said. "See ya in a few." Then, they took off down the street. Yami sighed, then made his way up the steps.

The former Pharaoh went to the door and gently turned the handle, then pulled open the door. He walked inside and looked around. Ryou wasn't in the living room, or in the kitchen, he could see that much. Yami closed the door behind him and walked further inside.

Suddenly, he heard several dry sounding coughs from upstairs. "Ryou?" he called out. "Are you up there?" Quickly, he made his way towards the stairs and up them. As he reached the top, he saw Ryou in the hallway.

The white haired boy stood in his blue and white striped pajamas and a blue robe. He had dark circles under his eyes and his cheeks were a little flushed. The boy truly looked sickly.

"Yami Yugi?" Ryou said as he rubbed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Yami sighed and walked over to Bakura's hikari. He laid a hand on the boy's shoulder and looked down at him. "I need to tell you something, Ryou," he said softly. Ryou looked up at him as he heard the concern in his voice.

"About what?" His chocolate eyes filled with worry.

"About Bakura," Yami replied as softly as he had spoken before.

Ryou's eyes grew wide. "Bakura . . ." Yami nodded. Ryou held a hand over his mouth and turned away as he coughed. Then, he turned back around. "We were out of Tylenol, and my head was hurting, so he said he'd go get me some. He's been gone quite a long time . . ."

Yami took a deep breath. "Yugi was walking home," he began. "And we found him in the alley . . ."

Tristan and Joey ran up to the Tashanazi residence and knocked on the door. "Aibou! Someone's at the door!" a voice called from inside. There was a small pause. "Aibou? Crap! Who is it?"

"Me an' Tristan!" Joey called.

"It's open!" Chaos called back.

Tristan opened the door and they both walked inside. "Hey, Chaos!" Tristan called. "Where are ya?"

"In the basement!" Chaos called. "Come on down!" Tristan and Joey looked at each other, shrugged, then went downstairs.

It was dark down in the basement, so the two high school boys slowly made their way down the steps. When they reached the end of the stairs, they found Chaos in the other room. She was sitting at the desk, messing around on her laptop. She had on a white T-shirt, black basketball shorts, and a gray robe. They had seen Tazi wearing something quite similar when they'd come to her door one morning. It seemed as if it were a around the house thing.

"Yo," Chaos said as she turned around in the swivel chair to look at them.

"Hey," they both said.

"What're you guys doing here?" she asked. "I thought you guys were going to the arcade with Yugi today."

The two shrugged their shoulders sheepishly. "Got in trouble, put on mop duty," Joey said as he grinned.

Chaos rolled her eyes. "Figures. Now what's up?"

"Uh . . . Well," Tristan began. He elbowed Joey to get him to talk.

"Yami's over at Ryou's and he said that he needed to talk to you," Joey said. "It's pretty important."

Chaos stood up and put on a serious face. "What about?"

"It's really not our place to say," Tristan said. "But we should probably be heading back." Chaos nodded.

"Okay, lets go," she said as she pushed past them and ran up the stairs. She went to the kitchen, left a note to Tazi, then went to the door to put her boots on. Chaos tossed her robe on the living room floor, then headed out the door once Tristan and Joey got back up the stairs.

The three ran back down the two blocks and ran up to Ryou's front door and walked in. Ryou was sitting on the couch, now in jeans and a sweatshirt, with a fearful look on his face and Yami was standing next to the couch with his arms folded across his chest and his eyes closed. Chaos was the first to talk.

"You needed to speak with me?" she said as she walked in. Yami opened his eyes and nodded.

"Yes, I do," he said. "Something's happened to Bakura." Chaos gave a silent gasp and she felt her heart pound against her chest.

"Where is he?" she demanded. Something had happened to her best friend? 'Something' was very vague, but she didn't care, she had to know where he was, she had to get to him.

"At the hospital," Yami said. "He"

"You can tell me on the way there," Chaos interrupted as she turned to the wall next to the door and grabbed a set of keys. "Come on, Ryou," she said more softly as she turned back around. Ryou got up and followed her out the door.

Yami began to follow when he was stopped by Joey. "Call us when ya get the chance," he said. "We'll be at Tristan's." Yami nodded and walked out the door.

"Get in the car, Pharaoh!" Chaos shouted as she pulled Bakura's Mustang out of the garage. Yami jumped off the porch and got in the passenger's seat. Ryou was sitting in the back and looked down at the car floor. Chaos tore out of the driveway and down the road.

"All right," Chaos said as they went down the road. "Talk."

"We found Bakura in an alley as Yugi was walking home from school. He'd been stabbed in the stomach, and he'd lost a lot of blood. He was able to tell me a little before he passed out."

"Chaos, stop!" Ryou cried as the light ahead of them turned red. Chaos slammed on the brakes and gripped the steering wheel.

Yami waited for a few seconds before he started speaking again. "It wasn't much, but we can try and figure out what he meant later," he spoke with a quiet voice as he stared down the road. "Chaos?" He turned and saw that Chaos had her head hanging low and that her shoulders were shaking. Her knuckles were white from her grip on the steering wheel. She looked up at him, he couldn't tell if she was upset or angry.

The light turned green and Chaos put the petal to the floor. Yami kept quiet, sensing that he hadn't been helping anything. He turned in his seat and looked back at Ryou. He was curled up in the corner of the back seat with his arms wrapped around himself. Yami just sighed softly and turned back around in his seat.

He closed his eyes and sat back in the leather seat. He felt the somewhat chilled air blow through his hair and he thought of what Bakura had said. Yami didn't have the slightest clue as to who had been able to get Bakura. They had to be fast, strong, and quiet. It had been five millennia since the thief had been sneaking around the pyramids, but his hearing was still spectacular.

About a few minutes later, the car came to an abrupt halt in the parking lot of Domino Hospital. Chaos and Ryou quickly got out of the car and hurried into the building. Yami lingered for a moment, then ran after them

So What did you think? Please review! I have everything already written, so I can post the next chaper quickly. Though I'd at least like to get SOME revies before doing so . . . kay?


	2. Chp2

WHEEE!! Somebody actually reviewed my story!! They seemed so ecstatic, I'm putting up Chapter2 just for them. XP Again, if you wanna know about the OCs, go to my profile, it tells about them in there.

Chaos and Ryou quickly went through the sliding doors and immediately saw Yugi. He looked up when he heard footsteps and gave a relieved smile. "I'm glad you guys got here," he said. Then, he turned to Ryou. "How're you feeling?"

"Not too bad," Ryou answered softly. "Where's Bakura?"

Yugi bit his lip. "I think he's still in ER," he confessed. "They said it might take a while." Then, they all heard Yami come in.

"Are you okay, aibou?" he asked as he walked up to them and stood by his hikari.

"Of course, Yami," Yugi said as he looked up at him with an innocent smile. "Why wouldn't I be?" Yami ruffled Yugi's hair.

"I guess I'm just a little over protective," Yami said gently. "That's all."

"Oh," Yugi said in an understanding tone. "Are you okay?"

Yami smiled. "Yes, aibou."

"So, what do we do now?" Ryou asked softly.

"We wait," Chaos answered just as softly.

They all walked over to some chairs and sat down. Ryou sat in between Yugi and Chaos, and Yami sat next to his hikari. Time went slowly, and Chaos was the first to get antsy. She got up and began to pace around the lobby. Then, she borrowed some change from Yugi to call Tazi. After a few rings, the answering machine picked up and Chaos hung up. Next, she tried to get her at Seto Kaiba's.

After two rings, someone picked up. "Moshi moshi," a young voice said. "Kaiba residence."

"Hi, Mokuba," Chaos said cheerfully. "It's Chaos."

"Hi!" the boy chirped. "Are you looking for Tazi?"

"Yep," Chaos answered as she leaned against the wall.

"Sorry," Mokuba said. "But she's out with Seto. He said he'd give her a ride to the grocery store. Should I tell her you called if she comes over?"

"Yeah," Chaos said with defeat. "Thanks, Mokuba."

"Welcome," Mokuba said. "Bye."

Chaos slammed the phone on the receiver. "I wish that girl would get a cell phone," she muttered as she went back to the others and sat back down. Ryou coughed suddenly and Chaos looked over at him. "Maybe I should take you home," she said as she rubbed a hand up and down his back. "If Bakura finds out you sat around in this waiting room he'll kill me."

"No!" Ryou pleaded. "Please, I want to stay here. I can't stand the thought of sitting at home while Bakura's in ER!" He clung to Chaos's arm. "Don't take me home," he begged softly. "Please, don't take me home."

Chaos sighed and looked down at the little hikari, then she looked over at Yami. He only shrugged his shoulders. Chaos gave him a look that said, 'Oh, you're a lot of help'.

The female yami felt that since Bakura was injured, it was her responsibility to look after Ryou. Chaos didn't like the fact that Ryou was sitting there when he should have been in bed. She put the back of her hand against the boy's cheek. His fever wasn't too bad, but it was still a fever.

"All right, Ryou," she whispered. "You can stay." Ryou let go of her arm and whispered a thank you. "But," Chaos said. "You are going to go down to the cafeteria with me and we'll get you something to eat."

"Okay," Ryou said softly as he stood up with the darker half of his friend Tazi.

"I'll come with you guys!" Yugi said as he jumped up in a cheery voice that made everyone smile. Chaos smiled as she looked down at him and turned to Yami.

"I'll stay here," he said as he threw one leg over the other. "In case we get any news." Chaos nodded, then led the two youngsters to the cafeteria. Yami watched them go and then closed his eyes.

Once the three got down to the cafeteria, they began to look for something to eat. Chaos found some Chicken Noodle soup for Ryou, and Yugi found a small bowl of fruit that looked like a good snack. Chaos though, had a hard time finding something. Her stomach felt like it wouldn't hold any food. So all she had was coffee.

They all found a small table next to the large glass windows. Chaos sat and stirred the cream in her coffee while the other two ate. Yugi did some talking, but the other two were quiet. Chaos stared out the window.

"Looks like it might rain," Yugi said as he noticed the dark clouds that littered the sky.

"Hm," was all Chaos responded with. Then, she saw two drops of rain hit the pavement. "Aw, crap!" she suddenly said as she jumped up from her seat. "I gotta get the car in the parking garage!" Without another word, Chaos ran out of the cafeteria.

Ryou turned to Yugi and smiled a little. "At least she remembered," Yugi said. Ryou nodded.

"It took Bakura a half an hour to remember that he'd left the car in the driveway and not the garage last time." Then, it began to pour.

Yami was sitting in the same chair when he heard the hospital doors open and the sound of wet shoes. He opened one eye to see what was going on, then sat straight up when saw who it was. "What happened to you?" he demanded.

Chaos was soaked from head to toe. Her pony tail was dripping water on the floor, and her bangs were plastered to her face. Her sopping wet clothes clung to her body and her boots made sloshing noises. "What do you think happened, Pharaoh?!" she snapped. "I got caught in the rain!"

"But _why_ did you get caught in the rain?" Yami asked.

"Because I had to move the car into the parking garage!"

Yami frowned as he reached into his pocket. "But . . . How did you get the car into the garage if I had the keys?" He pulled them out and jingled them. Chaos glared at the floor and muttered something. "What?"

"I hot-wired the car!" Chaos snapped. Yami raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's right, Pharaoh, you heard correctly. I hot-wired Bakura's car."

"Uh . . ."

"Don't worry, I fixed it," Chaos said as she turned around and began to walk away. "There were extra wires under the driver's seat."

"Where are you going?" Yami asked.

"To get dried off!" Chaos said as she walked into the restroom. From where he was sitting, Yami heard the automatic dryer come on.

Chaos sat down under the dryer and let the heat blow on her hair. After a few minutes, she got annoyed and went into one of the stalls. In the stall she took off the wet shirt and wringed it out in the toilet, then, she wrung out her hair. Then, she went back to sitting under the dryer.

She leaned against the wall and shut her eyes. 'Bakura would be so mad if he found out I hot-wired his car,' she thought as she rubbed her eyes. 'But I replaced the wires, so he never has to know.'

The yami thought back to what the other dark had said about Bakura saying something before passing out. The Pharaoh had never actually told her what he'd said. For a few minutes, she just sat there and let her mind wander, but her thoughts always came back to the same thing. Finally, she got up and walked out of the restroom.

Yami was still sitting in the same seat. Chaos walked over and sat down next to him. He smirked when he saw that she was still wet. "Shut up, Pharaoh," Chaos growled. Yami merely shrugged his shoulders.

"So," Chaos said after a couple moments. "What did Bakura actually say?" Any hint of any humor that had been on the Egyptian's face was now gone.

"He said that the man who came up on him knew who he was," Yami said quietly. He leaned over and looked Chaos directly in the eye. "He said that he was coming for us next." Chaos's eyes grew in size.

"Is it someone after the Items?" Chaos asked.

"Bakura didn't seem to think so," Yami said as he leaned back. "I just wish we knew more." Chaos nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to go check on Yugi and Ryou," she said as she stood up. As she walked away, Yami noticed something.

"Here, catch," Yami said as he threw her his jacket. She turned and caught it, then gave him a strange look. "That wet shirt's almost see through." Chaos glared at him, but then put the blue jacket on and then pushed the sleeves up above her elbows. As she began to walk away, she stopped and turned back around halfway.

"Yami?"

"Yes?"

Chaos bit her lip and looked at the floor for a second. "Do you think he might come after our hikaris?" Yami thought hard on the question, he hadn't thought of it. He looked over at Chaos.

"I don't know, but we can't risk it." Chaos nodded, then walked off.

A few minutes later, she came back with the two hikaris. As they sat down, Chaos handed Yami a paper cup. "Thought you might need a boost," she said with a small smile. Yami took the cup and nodded a thank you. He took a sip of the coffee and felt the hot liquid soothe his throat. He looked up at the clock, it was five in the evening.

"Yugi?" he said as he turned to his aibou.

"Yeah?"

"I think you should call your grandfather and have him come pick you up. You have school tomorrow," Yami said with a 'I don't care what you think' tone. Yugi looked like he was going to argue, but then reluctantly went to the pay phone.

Chaos looked over at the white haired teen next to her. He was trying not to fall asleep. She was going to try and reason with him. "Ryou," she said gently as pulled Yami's jacket around herself a little more, feeling a little cold. "Maybe you could" Ryou opened his eyes.

"No, Chaos!" he said. "I'm staying here."

"Ryou . . . Onegai, you need some rest," Chaos pleaded with the sick boy.

"I can do that here," Ryou said as he folded his arms across his chest.

"But . . ." Chaos felt that she was losing.

"But nothing!" Ryou said as he jumped and stood in front of the Egyptian. "You're not my parent and you're not Bakura, you don't have any right to be telling me what's best for me!" Yami stayed silent, hoping that he wouldn't be dragged into this, but he was wondering how Chaos was going to react. He was glad Yugi wasn't there to see Ryou's out of character behavior.

Chaos looked angry for a moment, but then understanding washed over her face. She stood up and faced Ryou. "I know I'm not, Ryou," she said softly.

"Then stop pretending you are!"

"I'm not pretending, Ryou," she said. "Neither your father or Bakura are here to take care of you right now, so I've appointed myself as your care taker for the time being."

"Take care of your own hikari!" Ryou said as tears brimmed his eyes. "Bakura takes care of me just fine!"

"Tazi's fine for the time being," Chaos said. "If she were in any danger I'd go to her immediately, but she's not, and you need help. I'm trying to help a friend out, Bakura would want me to." Several tears slid down Ryou's flushed cheeks.

"I'd rather have Malik taking care of me than you! So back off!" he cried with a snap in his voice. Chaos took a step away from the boy in surprise. Yami winced, he could see the hurt on Chaos's face, she looked like she'd been slapped. Ryou soon noticed it too. It had been a very harsh thing to say.

"I'm sorry," he cried as he suddenly rushed into Chaos's arms and buried his face in her chest. "I didn't mean it," he cried softly. "I didn't mean it."

Chaos rubbed a hand up and down his back. "I know you didn't," she cooed. "It's all right, tenshi, no need for tears. Everything will be all right."

"I'm . . . I'm afraid something will happen to Bakura!" Ryou sobbed. He coughed a couple of times and then continued to cry. "I'll be alone, all alone!" Chaos held him tightly.

"Hush," she said soothingly. "Don't say things like that. You'll never be alone." Chaos pulled him back and looked into his teary chocolate eyes. "And if something were to happen to Bakura," she said in a low, more dangerous tone. "I'd scour the Earth until I found the man who did it and make him pay. Got it?" Ryou nodded and sniffled. Chaos softened and wiped away a few tears with her thumb. "Go and clean up now, Ryou. Wash away your tears."

Ryou turned to go, but then looked back. "But," he whispered. "Can I stay? Onegai shimasu, Chaos-chan?" Chaos sighed and looked at the boy with affection.

She nodded. "Yes, you can stay," she said. Ryou smiled with relief and hurried off to get cleaned up. When he was gone, Chaos turned back to Yami.

"Ryou's picking up Bakura's stubbornness," she said with amusement as she sat down next to the past Pharaoh. Yami chuckled slightly.

"It must be why you adore him so much," Yami said. Chaos lifted a brow.

"And what's that suppose to mean?" she demanded as she edged off her seat.

"Huh? I . . . That's . . . What?"

"Are you saying I have a crush on Bakura?!" Chaos demanded as her voice began to rise. Yami realized what he had said.

"N-n-o! No! That's not what I meant!" Yami shouted, knowing that his choice of words had been quite pour and he was about to pay for it.

Chaos jumped out of her seat with a look of disgust. "That's just _wrong_, Pharaoh! That is so incredibly _WRONG_!!!"

Yami held his hands out, showing that he had meant no harm. "Gomen! That's not what I meant!"

"Oh, yeah right!" Chaos grabbed a fistful of Yami's shirt and pulled him forward. Yami shut his eyes tightly and looked away.

"Um, excuse me, Chaos? Could you hold off pulverizing Yami for a few seconds?" Yugi's voice made its way to Yami's ears.

Chaos turned around with Yami's shirt still in her fist. "Okay, but only for a few seconds," she said in a business like tone.

"Thanks," Yugi said as he walked over. "Grampa's coming to pick me up, Yami. You'd better call me if anything happens, okay?" Yami nodded.

"Don't worry, aibou."

"Okay, have at it, Chaos."

Yami looked at him with wide eyes. "Aibou?!" Yugi grinned. Chaos turned back to him.

"With pleasure," Chaos said as she pulled Yami back towards her. But, her fun was once again interrupted.

/Yami?/ Chaos suddenly let go of Yami and looked around.

Tazi? Where are you?she demanded as she closed her eyes and crossed her arms.

/I just got home and Seto's helping me with the groceries, and I found your note on the table. I tried to call Ryou's, but no one answered. Now where are you?/

I'm at the hospital, aibou,Chaos answered mentally.

/What?!/ Tazi demanded. /Are you okay? What happened? Who got hurt? Did you do something to Yami Yugi? If you did, Chaos, I swear/

It's Bakura,Chaos cut in. Tazi grew silent. The yami could feel her hikari grow solemn.

/What happened?/ she asked quietly.

The Pharaoh and Yugi found him in the alley, he'd been stabbed.Tazi gasped.

/Is he all right?/

We don't know yet,Chaos told her. I'm here with Ryou, Yami, and Yugi.

/Are you all right?/ Tazi asked softly.

Yes, aibou,Chaos answered.

/Do you want me to come there? I could have Seto bring me over./

No, you stay home, you have school tomorrow,Chaos said. Tazi was silent for a moment.

/Well,/ she said. /Okay, then. I guess I'll see ya later. Bye./

Bye, Tazi,Chaos said as she severed the connection. She opened her eyes and looked down at Yami. "Tazi came home," she said as she sat down next to him. She had given up trying to hurt him.

Ryou finally came back out and sat back down next to Chaos. "Any news?" Chaos shook her head. The teen sighed and leaned back in the chair. He coughed a couple times and put a hand to his throat. He looked over at Chaos, and was relieved when she didn't say anything.

Yugi came back up to the others. "Grampa's here," he said as he reached under Yami's seat and pulled out his backpack. "And he said to give you guys this in case you get hungry." He handed Yami a five and a ten dollar bill. Yami put the money in his pocket.

"Thank him for us, Yugi," Yami said as he stood to hug his aibou.

"Okay," Yugi said as he hugged his darker half. He pulled away and waved to the others as he ran out. "Bye, Chaos! Bye, Ryou!"

"Sayonara, Yugi!" Ryou said as cheerfully as he could manage.

"See ya later, Yugi!" Chaos called. They then went back to waiting.

Five hours and six cups of coffee later, Chaos finally sat in the seat she had started in. She had moved about ten times. She had gone from the chair, to pacing, to leaning against the wall, and so on. Chaos took off Yami's jacket and threw it at him. "Thanks for the loan," she said as he put it back on.

"You're welcome," Yami said quietly. "Are you dry now?"

Chaos smirked. "I think so." Yami nodded. He looked over to Ryou, he had moved over to the couch across the room. The white haired boy had become silent over the past two hours, and Chaos had only continued to worry about him.

"He'll be fine," Yami said. Chaos suddenly snapped out of a trance and looked at him with a quizzical look.

"Which one?"

"Both of them," he answered comfortingly. Chaos let her head fall back gently against the wall.

"I hope you're right," she said softly.

Yami patted her knee gently and stood up. "I'm going to go get some more coffee, do you want some?" Chaos shook her head. "Okay, be back in a little while."

Chaos watched Yami walk towards the cafeteria, then looked back over at Ryou. The boy looked exhausted. His cheeks were slightly flushed and his eyelids drooped. Chaos walked over to him and sat down. She put her arm around him, then hugged him. "He'll be alright," she whispered. Ryou just clung to her for comfort.

Yami stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked into the cafeteria. As the night began to lose its youthfulness, the cafeteria became sparsely populated. The former Pharaoh got some coffee and sat down at a table next to the large windows. He watched the rain hit against the pavement and cars spraying puddles as they sped by.

"He wants nothing but us dead . . ." Yami murmured as he brought the cup to his lips. Those words had been repeating themselves in his mind for the past three hours. 'Us' wasn't very specific. Had Bakura meant the hikaris as well? By name, he'd only mentioned Yami and Chaos, but he had something about 'all dead'. All was usually referred to more than three people.

It seemed that he or she, was out to kill Millennium Item holders. Were they going to try to kill Malik as well? It didn't seem like it was possible, at least not to do it while he was out to get Yami and Chaos. Marik and Malik had moved back to Egypt for the time being with Ishizu. And if the person, whom Yami assumed was a man, since Bakura had referred to them as a 'guy', tried to go after Malik, he would be in for it. Malik had calmed down a little, but not much. He was still a mean spirit. But this guy had gotten Bakura, and seeing him lying in the alley was enough to rattle the once Pharaoh.

The spirit of the Puzzle ran his finger along the brim of the paper cup. It was only a little after ten, and he knew that for him, the night was only beginning. He suddenly snorted. In all that he'd been through, he would have never imaged himself sitting in a hospital waiting to hear about a tomb robber.

Bakura had changed for the better, he still had some rough edges, but that was his nature. Yami supposed that after all they'd been through, they had slowly bonded into an odd, twisted friendship. He snorted again. It was almost like the friendship of Tristan and Joey. They would bicker and fight and call each other names, but when it was time to help, they would lend a hand.

Then, there was Chaos, who had bonded more quickly with Bakura. The two were exactly like Tristan and Joey, to every point. They were practically inseparable when put together even for a moment. Whether they were fighting or scheming, they stuck together. Yami knew he considered her as a friend, but he remembered their start had been quite bumpy.

He always felt a little sorry for her. Unlike her two fellow yamis, she remembered absolutely nothing of her life in Egypt. The name Chaos hadn't even come along until after their first meeting. They assumed that she played in the Shadow Games, because all of them had at one point or another. Her favorite monster had probably been Magician of Black Chaos, the same as it was now.

The spirit of the Puzzle often found himself wondering where Chaos had fit in. She had to have been someone somewhat powerful to control a monster such as the Chaos Mage. She did have one thing from ancient Egypt, and it was a pendant of the phoenix with a crystal dangling from it. Yami sometimes wondered if it held any mystical energies. She was still powerful, and he didn't really want to see her use her full power.

Yami finally got up and looked at the clock, it was a quarter till eleven. Chaos was probably wondering what was keeping him. He picked up his cup, got a refill, and went back to the waiting room.

When he walked in, he found Chaos on the couch with Ryou's head resting in her lap. The boy's sleeping form was stretched out on the couch with his feet almost dangling over the edge. The blond haired teen was gently running her fingers through his white hair in a soothing manner.

Chaos looked up when she heard his footsteps and smiled. "He finally fell asleep," she said softly. Yami pulled a chair next to Chaos's side of the couch sat down.

"Good," he said as he took a sip of coffee. Chaos looked back down at the boy with affection.

"Yeah, I hope he gets better soon," she said. "Sitting in this waiting room isn't helping him any."

"I agree," Yami said quietly as he pushed his golden bangs back from his face. The words that had been haunting him returned. "You know, Chaos," he said as he threw one leg over the other. "I've been thinking about something Bakura said, and something you said, about our hikaris. Maybe we should find somewhere where they would be safe. We could take them out of school until we get things settled."

Chaos nodded, a plan was slowly forming in her mind. "I'll do that tomorrow," she said as she checked Ryou's fever. "Why did you have to get the flu, Ryou?" she whispered to the sleeping boy.

"What are you going to do?" Yami asked.

"I'll tell you after I get it settled," Chaos replied softly.

For a while, the two Egyptians just sat in silence and listen to the distant hustle and bustle of other parts of the hospital. Chaos looked out the window and saw that the rain was slowly changing to snow. The sleet hit against the glass and slid down to the sill. After a while, it was just snow that slowly descended to the ground.

"I wonder if school will get canceled," Chaos wondered out loud.

"I don't know," Yami said. "It didn't when it snowed last week. Yugi was really disappointed." Chaos laughed a little.

"So was Tazi," she said as she looked down at Ryou. "She had been planning on going over to Ryou's to play in the snow. Instead, Bakura and I ended up having a snowball fight in the backyard."

"Why am I not surprised?" Yami said as he set his empty cup on the floor under his chair. "It seems that no matter what you two do, it ends up in a fight of some kind."

"Yeah," the young woman whispered. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. "I hope he's okay."

Yami didn't answer for a few moments. He could tell her that Bakura was okay, but something could still go wrong. He couldn't do that to her. "I hope so too," he finally said.

They were silent again. For the longest time, they watched the snow fall. Ryou had begun to shiver and Yami covered him with his jacket. They were now the only souls in the waiting room, except the woman at the desk, quietly tapping away at the computer. For a while, Yami went deep into thought. Then, when he turned to ask Chaos a question, he found that she had fallen asleep.

The ex-Pharaoh looked at the clock. It was twelve-thirty in the morning, and still no news on their friend Bakura. He took up pacing for a while, then went to the restroom, and then splashed some water on his face.

As he wiped the water from his face with his black shirt, he saw himself in the mirror. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his face looked drawn from weariness. His bangs drooped a little, and his clothes were wrinkled. In his mind, he could just think of what Bakura would say. "You look like crap, Pharaoh!"

Any other time, he'd probably shout something back, throw something at the thief, and threaten to send him to the Shadow Realm. But now, he'd welcome the comment. Bakura had to pull through.

Yami's thoughts went out to Yugi. The boy was sleeping soundly, tucked away under warm sheets. Yami smiled as he wiped his hands off on his pants and walked out of the men's room.

In his soul room, Ryou woke up and slowly climbed out of bed. He walked over to his door and pulled it open. The white haired boy walked across the hall and softly knocked on Bakura's door.

"Yami? Are you okay?" he called quietly into the silence. When he received no reply, he tried to pull the door open. Ryou tugged and tugged, but he couldn't open his yami's door. When he failed, he began to pound on the door with his fists.

"Yami! Please, answer me! Let me know that you're okay!" Ryou cried into the silence. His cries echoed throughout the corridors of his mind. But there was still no answer. Tears began to run down the hikari's face. "Bakura . . ."


	3. Uhh Chapter 3

Blah . . . I'm just posting this because . . . well, I really don't know why. v.v No one's reviewed chapter 2, so I don't know if anyone's reading this. If you are reading, please, PLEASE leave a review. It's the only way I know if anyone really likes my stuff. TT If you do review and leave a signed one, I'll got and read one of your stories and review, sound fair? I'd really like to know what everyone thinks out my writing. It's a possible career goal for me when I get out of school . . .

Pharaoh Yami walked back into the waiting room and saw that Ryou had a tear sliding down his cheek. The tri-color haired teen wiped the tear off the sleeping boy's face and then sat back in his chair. He wondered what was going on in the boy's mind. He then looked back over at Chaos, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully enough.

Something moved in the corner of Yami's eye. He turned and saw a man in a white coat come up to him. "Are you one of the ones who found the young man in the alley?" Yami nodded.

"Is he all right?" he demanded as he stood up. The doctor looked at the two sleeping teens and motioned Yami away from them. They walked across the room. "Well?"

"We have him resting in a room now in ICU, but we're debating on whether to let visitors in or not," the doctor said. He fiddled with a pen clipped to his pocket on his shirt.

"But is he all right?" Yami demanded. The doctor sighed.

"He's fairly weak," the man said quietly. "It's amazing that he lived through it all. There's still a slight chance that something could go wrong, but the odds are in his favor." Yami crossed his arms and nodded.

"Why can't we see him?"

"It may not be good for him," the doctor said. "He needs his rest, all that he can get."

"We'd be quiet," Yami said. "We've been waiting for a long time." He looked over at the sleeping Chaos and Ryou.

"Are you friends or family?" the doctor asked. Yami raised a brow.

"Does it matter?"

"Technically, yes," the doctor said as he adjusted his glasses.

Yami pointed over to Ryou. "The boy is his brother, but we're friends." He didn't dare mention that Ryou had the flu, he knew that the doctor wouldn't even consider letting him in Bakura's room. The doctor thought for a moment.

"We'll see tomorrow," the doctor finally said. Yami smirked.

"It is tomorrow," he replied casually. The doctor frowned at him.

"You know what I mean," he growled, not liking Yami's smart-aleck remark. Then, he walked away.

"We'd better be able to see him," Yami muttered threateningly as the doctor left the waiting room. He walked back to his chair and sat down, then, he took out his deck and began to go through it. He stopped at his favorite, the Dark Magician. It was odd really, his favorite card wasn't as strong as Chaos's or technically even Bakura's. Chaos's Magician of Black Chaos was stronger than his in attack points and was more rare. Bakura's card, the Change of Heart could take control of his Dark Magician if he chose to.

But the Dark Magician had pulled through for him every time. It was because his heart was in it. As long as it stayed that way, Yami knew that the Dark Magician would always prevail.

He looked back over at Chaos. He hadn't dueled her very many times, but when he had, she'd been a tough opponent. She knew just as much about the game as he did. Once, she had gotten her Chaos Mage onto the field, and would have won if Tazi hadn't practically dragged her out of the Game Shop, saying that it was time to go.

The hours droned on and the sun slowly began to rise. As Yami looked out the window, he saw that a fresh blanket of snow covered the ground. But then, he saw a salt truck drive by. 'Poor aibou,' Yami thought. 'He's going to be so disappointed.' After about another hour, he felt Yugi calling to him through their link.

/Check out all the snow, Yami!/ he said excitedly. /I wonder how much we got? Maybe we'll get out of school!/ Yami chuckled.

I doubt that, aibou,Yami said. I saw a salt truck drive by earlier.Yugi moaned.

/No, no, no, no! I don't wanna go to school! I wanna stay home!/ Yugi whined. /It's not fair!/

Life isn't fair,Yami said humorously. It wasn't five thousand years ago and it isn't now.

/Yeah, yeah, yeah,/ Yugi said. /I've heard this one before. How's everyone doing?/

Chaos and Ryou are still asleep, and the doctor says that they think Bakura's going to be okay.

/Good, well, I have to get ready for school. Maybe I'll stop by on my way home./ Before Yami could reply, Yugi cut the link.

Yami got up and walked around to stretch his legs. It was six-thirty and some different employees were coming in. He went down to the cafeteria and got another cup of coffee. When he got back to the waiting room, he saw that Chaos was beginning to wake up.

"Good morning," he said as he sat down. Chaos yawned and rubbed her eyes. She started to stretch, but remembered that Ryou was laying on her lap. The blond teen muttered something about the cold and stupid hospital furniture, then completely opened her eyes.

"What time is it?" she asked. Yami looked at the clock.

"Almost seven," he replied as he took a sip of steaming coffee.

Chaos looked at him and grinned. "You look like crap, Pharaoh!" Yami sighed, he should have known that Chaos would think like Bakura.

"That's what happens when you don't sleep," he replied. Chaos shook her head.

"Insomnia stinks, don't it?" Yami nodded. Chaos looked down at Ryou and brushed some of his hair out of his face. "Anything happen while I was out?"

"We finally got some news on Bakura," Yami said quietly. "I think he's gonna be okay. He just needs a lot of rest." Chaos looked hopeful.

"Can we see him yet?" she asked.

"No," Yami replied. "The doctors are debating on whether or not to let us see him. They think it might hurt him more than help him."

"I think they're wrong," Chaos muttered. "He'd want to see Ryou, to know that he's okay. I don't know how much he'd want to see you though, Pharaoh." She grinned wickedly as he scowled.

"So," Yami said as he took another drink. "When are you planning on doing whatever it was you were going to do?" Chaos looked at him for a moment, her sleepy eyes didn't seem to completely register what he meant, but then cleared.

"As soon as I can get sleepy head here up," she said as she looked down at Ryou. Chaos caressed the boy's cheek. "Ryou?" she said softly. "Time to wake up, kiddo." Ryou turned a little and muttered something in his sleep. Then, he pulled Yami's jacket over his head. The two yamis laughed a little.

"I don't think that's going to work too well," Yami said as he pulled the jacket away from Ryou and put it back on. Slowly, Ryou stretched out and his chocolate eyes cracked open. At first, he seemed to not remember what had happened, but awareness slowly crept back in and he sat up.

"What time is it?" he asked softly as he rubbed his eyes.

"A little after seven," Yami said as he smiled gently.

"How're you feeling this morning, Ryou?" Chaos asked. Ryou thought for a moment.

"A lot better actually," he admitted. "My throat's a little sore, and I'm stiff, but I think I'm getting well." Chaos reached out and felt his forehead with the back of her hand.

"Your fever's gone down quite a bit too," she said. Chaos stood up and then held her hand out to Yami. "Can I have the car keys?"

"Where are you going?" Ryou asked as he looked up with wide eyes.

"I've got a few things I need to take care of," Chaos said as Yami put the keys in her hand. "Like getting a new wardrobe." Ryou giggled. The blond began to walk out and then looked over her shoulder. "I should be back no later than two!" With that, she walked outside.

Yami and Ryou heard her scream in Egyptian about how cold it was, but then her voice grew quieter as she ran to the parking garage. Yami pursed his lips, trying not to laugh. Ryou was laughing quietly. The Game King turned to Ryou. "How about some breakfast?"

Chaos ran into the parking garage and got in the car. She started it up and drove out of the parking garage. She turned the radio on and listened to the morning news.

When she reached the Tashanazi residence, she parked Bakura's car in their garage for safe keeping. For some reason, she didn't trust leaving Bakura's car in the deserted residence two blocks away.

She would use the car Tazi's father had left in the garage. He sent money every month for gas, groceries, and other odds and ends. Mr. Tashanazi had been told by Tazi that an older friend, namely Seto Kaiba, was teaching her how to drive. Tazi though, didn't get her permit for two months. So in the mean time, Chaos used the '93, red Toyota when she wasn't with Bakura in his Mustang.

Chaos turned off the car and took the keys out of the ignition and grabbed the other set of keys as well. She closed the garage door and went into the house through the door towards the back of the garage. The yami put the keys to the Mustang on a hook by the door and walked into the kitchen.

As she walked past the fridge, she saw a note wrote in large letters. It read:

TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES, CHAOS! -Tazi

Chaos went back to the door and pulled off her boots, then made her way back through the kitchen. On the table, was another note. The blond picked up the note and read over it carefully.

_Chaos-_

_If you come home while I'm gone, be sure and leave another note to tell me how things are going. Like, when you're coming home again, ect. ect. There's some macaroni in the fridge, you just have to put in the microwave for a bit._

_-Tazi J_

Chaos turned the paper over and scribbled a few things down, then went upstairs to her room. She grabbed a few things, then went to take a shower. The warm water felt good on her cold skin and she shampooed her hair thoroughly.

As she continued to wash, she thought about Bakura. 'I hope he's okay,' she thought as she rinsed her hair. What would she do if something happened to him? She be alone with out her best friend. Sure, she had Tazi, but the light had her own life. Tazi was usually out with Seto or Yugi and the gang.

There was also Yami, but she just wasn't as close to him as she was Bakura. Her and Bakura did practically everything together. She hated not being at the hospital at that very moment, but she had to try to find a way to protect the hikaris.

Chaos also thought of Ryou. She knew the boy cared deeply about his yami. Bakura could be rough, rude, and a little mean, but he would never let anything happen to the boy. She had heard that for a while, everyone had suspicions that Bakura beat Ryou. But both yami and hikari swore that Bakura had never laid a finger on the boy. Chaos believed that, but she wouldn't have been surprised that Bakura used to be really mean.

The yami turned off the shower and began to dry off. Chaos went back to her bedroom and looked for some clothes to wear. She pulled out some dark blue jeans, a brown cream colored turtleneck, and dark blue denim jacket that went halfway to her knees. It may have not been what most would have wore for a cold day, but she found that it wasn't that bad. Chaos didn't like the cold that much, but it would keep her awake, and the clothes were warmer than they looked. She also didn't plan on running outside that much.

As she dressed, she looked at some pictures scattered on her desk. There was one of her and Bakura dueling. Bakura was flipping up his Man-Eater Bug card and she had a look of shock on her face. Another one was with them in Bakura's driveway, they were washing the car and Chaos was picking up the hose to spray naïve Bakura. "You can't die," she whispered out loud. "You can't leave me alone in this world."

Chaos finished drying her hair and put the car keys in her coat pocket. Then, she perched her wrap-around sunglasses on her head. Lastly, she slipped on her Millennium Bracelet. She went down to the kitchen and stuck the macaroni from the fridge in the microwave. She ate quickly, then went back upstairs to Tazi's room. Taking out a duffle bag, she packed some of Tazi's clothes. She put a few CD's in there and a book. She also got her toothbrush out of the bathroom. When she was done, she took it downstairs and put on her boots. The young woman went to the garage and put the duffle bag in the trunk of Mr. Tashanazi's car.

After locking the door to the house, Chaos got in the car and drove to Ryou's. She walked up to the porch and turned the door knob. She smiled to herself. Joey and Tristan must have locked the door after they had left.

Bakura had told her that if she had ever needed to get in, they had a spare key hidden under the first porch step. So Chaos walked back down the steps and squatted down. She reached under the step and found the key. After unlocking the door, she returned the key to its rightful place.

The Egyptian walked into the house and shut the door behind her. She took her boots off and quickly ran upstairs. Her socked feet patted quietly down the wood floored hallway. Her first stop, Ryou's room.

Chaos found that the boy's floor was littered with tissues. She picked her way through them and went to the closest. There, she pulled out Ryou's black duffle bag. The blond began to put some clothes in the bag. When she found that she had what she needed, she added a couple CD's and a few books. She also tossed one of Ryou's sketch pads and pencil sets into the bag. After grabbing his toothbrush, Chaos zipped the bag closed and put the strap on her shoulder.

Her second stop, Bakura's room. The older teen's room was just across the hall. As she walked in, she sighed. A few articles of clothing scattered the floor, and one or two folders were also lying there. Her room wasn't much better, but she never left folders on the floor.

Chaos picked up Bakura's backpack and set it on the bed. In it, she put a couple of Bakura's favorite mangas, the book 'Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx', which he was only a fourth of the way through, a car magazine, a duelist magazine, and his deck. She slung the backpack over her other shoulder and went back downstairs. At the door, she put her boots back on, and locked the door again on her way out.

Ryou's duffle bag went in the trunk with Tazi's blue one, and Bakura's backpack was set in the passenger's seat. Chaos got in the driver's seat and turned the keys. The car came to life and the radio played one of Sting's songs. She didn't pay much attention, even though he was one of her favorites. Chaos looked at the clock. Yes, he would be there.

Seto Kaiba was at his desk at the top floor of the headquarters of Kaiba Corporation. He had to call school saying that he couldn't come because he had paper work and meetings to catch up on. Sometimes, it was hard to cram everything together. He glanced at the purpose of the document, then scribbled his name on the paper.

Suddenly, his phone beeped, indicating that his secretary was calling him. He picked up the phone. "What?" he demanded.

"There's someone here who requests to see you, sir," the young secretary's voice said.

"Who is it?" Inwardly, he groaned. 'It had better not be that man from accounting again.' Three times already had he tried to convince Seto that they were losing money. He himself had done the figures, and saw that they were saving money. Kaiba had pointed this out to him and said that that was why he was running the company.

"She didn't say, sir," the feminine voice replied. "She said it was personal, shall I let her in?" Seto thought for a moment. Tazi was in school, and his secretary knew her, so he couldn't imagine who it could be.

"Yes," he answered. It was all out of curiosity.

"Right away, Mr. Kaiba."

A few moments later, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Seto called as he put some files back in their folder. The door slowly opened and a blond head stuck itself in. "Chaos?" Kaiba said in disbelief.

"I haven't caught you at a bad time have I?" she asked quietly. Seto shook his head. Something seemed wrong. Chaos didn't just pop in like Tazi did. She'd been to his office two or three times, but she'd been with her hikari.

Chaos walked in and closed the door behind her. She looked around as she approached the desk. Even though she'd been in Seto's office before, she couldn't get over the dark wooden shelves lined with books on each wall, and the dark wooden desk before her. The floor was cover in lush, dark red carpet, and snow was piled up on the window sill.

Seto pushed all his work aside as Chaos wrung her hands. "You can sit down," he said. Chaos shook her head. Something was definitely wrong. Seto stood up and walked around the desk. Chaos walked over to the bookshelf and he followed her.

"I'm sure you heard about Bakura," she said quietly as she looked at the ground.

"I did," Seto replied. "How is he?"

"I think he's going to be okay," Chaos said. She looked up and smiled meekly. "He's a strong fighter." Seto nodded.

"And?" he asked. He knew there was more to it. Chaos took a deep breath.

"Well, he was attacked, and the guy who came after him . . . He wants to kill Yami and me too. We want to get him before he gets us. This guy is dangerous. I think that Tazi might be in danger." She looked back down at the carpet. "I've never asked anything of you before, Kaiba"

"Seto," he cut in.

"Seto," Chaos repeated softly. "Do you think you could take Tazi in while we get this settled? She won't lead anyone there. She'll stay out of school."

"Of course I could," Seto said comfortingly. "And I will."

"And Ryou?" Chaos asked softly. Her voice sounded so out of character. Seto knew it was because she hated to ask something of him, since he already helped with Tazi a lot. "He doesn't have anyone right now, and he's sick, the hospital isn't the place for him."

"And Ryou," Seto said. Chaos shuffled her feet.

"And Yugi?" she asked in a voice that was barely audible. Seto's eyes grew wide.

"I'm not keeping the Pharaoh's boy in my house!" he exclaimed. "Why should I help him?" Chaos looked up with misty eyes.

"Because he'd take Mokuba in for you! I know he would!" she cried. "He'd do it without thought!" Seto couldn't say anything. He knew Chaos was right. Yami would help him. "Please?" she asked meekly. Seto sighed in defeat.

"Yes." Chaos gave him a watery smile.

"Thank you," she said. "I have Tazi and Ryou's things in the car, I just need to get Yugi's. I'll drop them off at the mansion, then I'll bring Ryou over. Also, do you think you could pick the other two up at school?"

Kaiba smiled. She had gained her confidence back quickly. "Yes," he answered shortly. Chaos smiled broadly with relief.

"Thank you so much!" she said as she looked up at him with shinning eyes. "This means so much to me, and Yami. I don't think we could ever repay you!" Kaiba just shrugged it off.

"So, this guy," Seto said as he walked back to his desk. "He's pretty dangerous?" Chaos nodded.

"Not just anyone could get Bakura," she said quietly as she trailed behind him. "We don't know anything about him. He could be part of a group, or completely alone. Until we do know, we'll just have to be extra careful." Seto nodded as he pulled open one of his desk drawers.

"Come over here, Chaos," he ordered as he took out a box. Chaos obliged and walked over to Kaiba's desk. She stared out the window and looked down at the busy streets below. "Since you need to be extra careful," Seto continued. "Take this."

Chaos turned and saw what he was holding out to her. "A gun?"

"Yes, it's a gun," Seto said. "Do you know how to use one?" Chaos nodded.

"Bakura and I once went to a target range for the fun of it," she said. "But I don't need a gun, I have Shadow Powers, and my Millennium Bracelet." Seto's eyebrows knitted together with thought.

"Maybe, but I would feel better if you took it. Magic can't stop everything," he said as he held it out to her once more. Chaos looked at it for a moment, then took it from him. The cold metal pressed against her palm and it felt awkward.

"I'll take it," she said. "I just hope I don't have to use it."

"I hope so too," Seto said as he took out another gun. "Give this one to Yami. I have some more ammunition in my desk, I'll get it for you." Chaos took the gun and then stared out the window again. Snow was idly falling from the sky.

"Does Mokuba know you have these guns in your office?" Chaos asked as she looked at the weapons. Seto was digging through a drawer.

"Yes, and he knows not to touch them, so I have nothing to fear." He pulled out two small boxes and two holsters. "Take these too." Chaos took the objects and looked at Seto.

"Why are you so willing to help me?" she asked quietly. "We've never really been very close." Seto sat in his chair.

"You're Tazi's other half," Seto explained. "Tazi's my best friend. It wouldn't be right not to help you. And Tazi needs protection, so I'll do whatever it takes."

"Well, thanks," Chaos said as she slipped the guns into the leather holsters. "It's more help than I expected." Seto looked curious.

"What did you expect from me?" Chaos shrugged.

"I don't know," she admitted. The yami looked at her watch. "But I really should be going, I need to get Yugi's things and get back to the hospital." She turned to leave when Seto cleared his throat.

"Be careful, Chaos," he called. "I really would miss you if you were gone." Chaos didn't turn around, but she smiled.

"And I would miss you," she called back as she walked out the door with the two guns in her coat pockets.

So what'd ya think?? How about . . . you go and click that little button that says review?? PLEEEEAAASE and thank you! If you like, review and I will post the next chapter as soon as I get the reviews.


	4. Chapter4

LOL . . . okay. I think it made things a little too desperate last time. I don't expect people to give me a gazillion reviews. I'd just like to know someone is READING the story and it's not just uselessly sitting there on And those of you who have, thank you very much! And it's not that I won't be compelled not to write if no one does, I wrote this story over a year ago. Though I dunno . . . if no one seems to care I just may stop posting the stuff. Whatever. So one with Chapter 4. Sometime though I'll actually write something new. Everything I've posted so far I wrote ages ago. And if you like this, go check out my other stories. Please and thank you.

Mr. Mutou was sitting behind the counter at his shop when he heard the bell above the door make a light jingle, indicating that a customer had arrived. When he looked up, he saw Chaos. "Well, hello there," he greeted warmly. "I haven't seen you in a while." Chaos smiled.

"How is everything going?" she asked politely. Solomon grinned.

"Just fine," he answered. "Now what can I do for you today?" Chaos bit her lip.

"Well, Gramps," she began. "I came by to ask if you could pack a few of Yugi's things."

"What?" he asked in disbelief. "Where do you plan on taking my grandson? And for how long?" Chaos sighed.

"He's going to stay at the Kaiba Mansion for only a few days, we hope. I'll assume he told you about Bakura's condition and what happened." Solomon nodded. "Yami and I are going to find the man who did it," she continued. "But we're afraid for our hikaris' safety. So Seto Kaiba has agreed to allow them to reside at his home for a few days. They shall stay out of school and out of sight. So if you please, could you pack some of his things?"

"Yes, I could do that," the old man finally said. "If you'll watch the counter for a few minutes, I'll go get Yugi's things."

Chaos waited as Yugi's grandfather went back into his home and gathered some of Yugi's things. She sat behind the counter, but no one came in. Solomon came back in with a duffle bag.

"Please," he begged. "Be careful." Chaos took the bag and nodded.

"I will, Mr. Mutou," she said reassuringly.

"And you and Yami look out for each other," he told her in a more stern voice. "You'll have to learn to get along with each other." Chaos laughed a little.

"We get along," she said as she began to turn around. "We just have an odd way of showing it." Gramps just sighed as she walked out.

Chaos put Yugi's bag in the trunk. As she got in the driver's seat, she pulled out the guns Seto had given her. She took one out of its holster and ran her fingers over the cool, silver metal. It didn't seem so awkward as it had only a while ago. She then put them and their ammunition in the front of Bakura's bag.

The yami had planned on dropping the hikaris' things at the Kaiba Mansion first, but her desire to go back to the hospital took over. She drove back to Domino Hospital and parked the car in the front parking lot. Chaos slung the backpack over her shoulder, then walked into the hospital.

As she stepped into the waiting room, she saw Yami standing there. She walked up to him and looked around. "Where's Ryou?" she asked, not seeing the boy anywhere.

"He's with Bakura," Yami said. Chaos looked hopeful.

"We can see him then?" she asked. "What changed the doctor's mind?" They began to walk towards the hallway.

"I haven't the slightest clue," Yami said as he turned away with a sly grin. 'If only you knew,' he thought.

(Flashback)

Yami got in the doctor's face. "What do you mean we can't see him?!" he demanded. Ryou stood up behind him. The doctor looked from the furious teen to the sad one.

"Well We . . . We think . . . That . . ." he stuttered as he took a step back to put some space between him and Yami. Yami took a step forward.

"Yes? I'm listening," he growled. The doctor pulled at his collar and swallowed hard.

"It wouldn't be good for him," the doctor spit out. "He'd waste energy." Yami raised an eyebrow.

"We've been waiting to see him for quite a while," Yami hissed. "And I'm sure his brother is very worried about him. I think it'd be best if we could see him." The doctor looked over at Ryou, who was looking like he really was a scared little brother.

"Please let me see my brother," Ryou begged quietly.

"I can't . . ." the doctor said. Yami grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer to his face. The eye of Horus glowed on his forehead and the Millennium Puzzle began to glow softly.

"I'll give you to the count of three to change your mind," he said quietly. "One . . ." Seeing that the spirit meant business, the doctor held up his hands.

"I'm sure I could allow just a few visitors," he gulped. Yami let him go.

"Good," he said. He turned to the white haired boy. "Come on, Ryou. Lets go see your brother."

(End of Flashback)

Yami and Chaos got in the elevator and Yami pushed the button for the fifth floor. Chaos leaned against the wall and Yami stood next to her. Together, they watched the numbers above the door change.

"So," Yami began. "Where did you go?"

"To Kaiba Corp," she replied. Yami looked over at her.

"What were you doing there?" he asked incuriously.

"To see Seto Kaiba, baka," she answered. He rolled his eyes.

"But why?" he demanded. Chaos looked over at him.

"I asked him if the hikaris could stay at the Kaiba Mansion while we tried to find Bakura's attacker," Chaos explained. Yami looked at her with surprise.

"What did he say?" he asked, afraid to hear the answer. Yami wasn't sure if Kaiba would take Yugi in, since he didn't like him too much. Plus, if the man were to find them there, it might put Mokuba in danger. But if they stayed there and didn't go anywhere, they might be good as gone from the world in the attackers eyes. Kaiba would most likely take Tazi in, maybe even Ryou, but Yugi?

"He said he would," Chaos answered as she looked back up at the floor number. "He's going to pick up Yugi and Tazi after school and I have their stuff in the trunk of Tazi's dad's car. So all I have to do now is take Ryou over to Kaiba's." Yami sighed in relief.

"I can't believe he's taking Yugi in," he breathed.

"He's not as bad as he likes to make some people think," Chaos said with a smile.

"I know," Yami replied. "But . . . Well, you know." Chaos nodded.

The elevator stopped and the two yamis got out and began to walk down the hall of Intensive Care. "Have you been in to see Bakura yet?" Chaos asked.

"Yes," Yami said. "He hasn't awakened yet."

As they walked farther down the hall. Chaos's chest began to tightened. She was eager to see her friend, but she was scared of what she'd see. The thought of Bakura laying on that hospital bed, so weak, scared her.

"It should be only two more doors down," Yami said as he looked to his left. Chaos suddenly stopped and leaned against the wall and held a hand over her eyes. Yami stopped and looked at her with concern, trying to make eye contact.

"I can't go in there," she whispered with a shaky voice. "I'm afraid to see him like that." Yami sighed with understanding and took hold of her shoulders and found that they were shaking.

"You have to go in there," he said quietly. "Bakura needs to know you're there." Yami gripped her shoulders. Chaos took her hand that was covering her eyes and clenched it into a fist and rested her forehead against it.

"I can't . . ." she cried.

"You can," Yami encouraged her. She brought her head up and looked at him. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

"What if he dies?!" Chaos cried. "What if he doesn't pull through?! I can't let my last memory of him be dying in a hospital bed!" Yami moved his hands from her shoulders to her upper arms. He squeezed tightly and shook her.

"Don't you talk like that!" he scolded. "You know Bakura can fight this off! You of all people know that!" Chaos lowered her head and nodded. She looked away from him and took a shaky breath.

"You're right, as usual," she whispered. "I shouldn't have doubted." Yami released her and patted her shoulder.

"Come on," he said softly. "Let's go see him and Ryou." He lead her down the hall to Bakura's door. Yami opened the door and saw Ryou sitting in a chair next to Bakura's bed, holding his yami's hand. "Why don't you let Chaos see him alone for a moment," he suggested. Ryou nodded, and came out of the room.

With a gently shove, Yami made Chaos go into the room, then shut the door behind her. Chaos stood right where Yami had put her. She looked at Bakura lying on the bed. He looked pale. The heart monitor beeped softly at a steady pace.

Chaos walked towards the bed and looked down at her best friend. She took the backpack off her shoulders and set it down on the chair. Bakura seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but she couldn't help but feel a little despair. Her friend was hurt, and that was enough to dampen her mood.

"Oh, Baku-chan," she whispered softly as she gently brushed back his long, white bangs.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that," a rough voice moaned. Chaos looked closely and saw Bakura stir.

"Bakura!" she cried happily. His slanted, chocolate eyes opened and looked up and Chaos. "How're you feeling?" she asked.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked in his weak voice. Chaos smiled.

"I guess not, Baku-chan," she answered. Bakura moaned.

"Please . . ." he begged. He hated that nickname. Whenever he was tired, sick, grouchy, or hurt, she'd call him that. The tomb robber looked around. "Where's Ryou? Is he here?"

Chaos nodded. "I'll get him for you," she said. The blond walked over to the door and opened it a little. Ryou was standing right beside the door. She smiled. "Some one wants to see you."

Ryou's face lit up as he dashed into the room. "Bakura, you're okay!" he cried. Bakura smirked.

"I guess you could say that," he said weakly. Ryou gently hugged him, but Bakura winced a little and Chaos and Yami both saw it. Ryou pulled away and still smiled. "Looks like you're feeling better yourself," Bakura said.

"I am," Ryou said happily. Bakura nodded in approval.

"Did Chaos take good care of you?" he asked as he looked over at his friend.

"Yes, Yami," Ryou replied as he sat on the edge of the bed. "She fussed over me as much as you did."

"Good," Bakura said. "Someone's gotta take care of you. You won't do it yourself, you dolt." Ryou bit his lip. Bakura then became more serious. "Do you have the Ring, aibou?"

Ryou looked confused. "Of course," he answered. The boy pulled the Ring out from under his sweatshirt. "Why?" Bakura closed his eyes.

"Give it to me," he said. Ryou's eyebrows knitted together.

"Why?" he asked.

"I may need it," Bakura answered as he opened his eyes again. "And I don't want someone tracking you down by looking for the Ring. Give it to me, Ryou." Ryou looked down at the floor, then slipped the Ring over his head and placed it in his yami's hands. "Thank you," Bakura said as he gripped the Ring.

Yami and Chaos walked over. "It's good to see you awake," Yami said as he folded his arms across his chest. Bakura looked up at him.

"I think so too," he replied with a mischievous grin. Yami sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Why?" he asked as he raised his hands into the air. "Why?!"

"Because I can, Pharaoh," Bakura snickered, but then coughed with a painful, dry sound. All three turned and looked at him worriedly. "I'm fine," he murmured. Bakura closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

"I'll go get the doctor," Yami said. "He'll want to know that you're awake." He turned and began to head towards the door. Ryou stopped him.

"Uh, Yami . . ." he said with a sheepish grin. "Maybe _I _should get the doctor." Yami thought back to about an hour earlier and nodded once.

"Right," he said as he avoided the looks of Bakura and Chaos. Ryou then left to go find the doctor. The three yamis were then left alone.

An awkward silence followed soon after. Bakura was the first to speak. "Did I miss anything?" Yami and Chaos looked at each other. Yami gave Chaos a grin that just dared to say something about Bakura's car. Chaos came back with a stern glare that threatened him. They turned back to Bakura.

"No," they simply answered together. Bakura looked at each of them, then shook his head. He put the Ring around his neck. It felt good to have its weight resting on his chest again. Yami thought to himself, then walked closer to Bakura's bed.

"What are we going to do now?" he asked both of them. All three looked at each other. Chaos sat on the arm of the chair next to Bakura's bed. She rested her chin in her hand and looked over at Yami. For several minutes, no one said anything.

After several minutes, both Chaos and Yami broke out of their deep thoughts to hear the soft, rhythmic breathing of Bakura sleeping. Chaos stood up and walked over to Yami. "Oh, well," she said. "He does need to rest." Yami nodded in agreement. "As soon as Ryou gets back I'll take him to Kaiba's," she said after a moment. Yami only nodded again.

Chaos then walked over to the backpack she'd sat next the hospital bed, knowing that it had to be done. "There was something Kaiba wanted me to give to you."

"Hmm?" Yami raised his brow in interest. Chaos pulled out the two guns in their shoulder holsters. "What?"

"He wanted us each to carry one," Chaos explained as she held one out to him. Yami took it and looked down at it with a questionable look. But then gave a look of acceptance.

"I just pray that we won't have to use these things," Yami said as he took off his jacket and slipped the black straps over his shoulders and positioned the gun at his left side. Chaos did the same and covered it back up with her coat.

"So do I," she replied. "But just in case, they are loaded. You just need to remove the safety." Yami nodded as he pulled his jacket back on. He let his hand slip into his jacket and wrap around the handle.

A few minutes later, Ryou came back in with the doctor. "He fell back asleep," Chaos said as the doctor looked at the patient.

"You were probably over stimulating him," the doctor grumbled. He walked over to the machines and checked Bakura's vitals. Chaos rolled her eyes and walked over to Ryou. Yami walked up behind the doctor.

"Actually," he said quietly. The doctor was startled and jumped slightly. "He seemed to enjoy our company." The doctor sighed, trying to get his heart to go back to its normal pace.

Ryou smiled slightly and Chaos just looked confused. She then got back on topic of what she needed to do. "Come out here with me, Ryou," she said to the boy as she took him by the arm. Ryou nodded and let Chaos gently pull him out of the room. He could tell that Yami and Dr. Hikura were getting ready for yet another fight.

Chaos shut the door behind her and leaned against the wall. Ryou stood in front of her, feeling that he knew something was coming, possibly something he wasn't going to like. But he didn't say anything. Chaos bit her lip and thought for a moment.

"Ryou," she began. She suddenly stopped. This wasn't going to be easy. Chaos knew that the boy wanted to be with his yami, but it wasn't safe. "We don't think it's safe for you to be here," she stated. Ryou looked at her with confusion for a moment.

"But you yourself said that I was getting better," he said. "You let me stay here all night too." Chaos shook her head.

"That's not what I mean," she said. "I mean that Well, Bakura mentioned he didn't want someone tracking you down by using the Ring. That's similar to what I'm talking about. I went and talked to Kaiba, and you, Yugi, and Tazi are going to stay at his mansion for a couple of days." Chaos stopped there, waiting to see what Ryou would say.

"Does Bakura know about this?" he asked softly. Chaos hid her surprise, it hadn't been the response she was expecting.

"No," she replied slowly. "But I'm sure he'd agree with my judgment. Yami and I just want to keep you hikaris safe until we get this whole thing settled. Okay?" Ryou nodded.

"When do I have to go?" he asked as he cast his eyes to the floor.

"Soon," Chaos replied softly. She put a hand on his shoulder. "I've already got your stuff." Ryou didn't look up. "I packed your sketch pad." Ryou looked up and smiled. Drawing was one of his favorite hobbies.

"Thanks," he said. "Can I say goodbye to Bakura first?" Chaos nodded. She suddenly heard Yami's voice raise a little.

"We might want to wait a few minutes though," she said as she looked at the door. Ryou giggled. "What?" The boy looked over at his yami's best friend.

"Yami and Dr. Hikura don't like each other too much," he said.

"I gathered that earlier," she replied.

"Dr. Hikura is a little scared of him," Ryou added. Chaos raised a brow.

"Just leave it at that, Ryou," she said as she held her hand out to his face. "I don't want details. That would make me a witness."

The door opened and Dr. Hikura came out with Yami following closely behind him. The doctor's face was pale and Yami was grinning with a certain look of insanity. Chaos let Ryou slip in to say goodbye to Bakura and she closed the door behind her gently. Hikura began to walk off and Yami started to follow him.

"Hold it there, Yam," Chaos called. Yami stopped and the doctor took off at a quick pace. Yami raised an eyebrow and mouthed the nickname she had called him.

"Are you going to take Ryou now?" he asked. Chaos nodded.

"He's just saying goodbye," Chaos said. "You stay in that room while we're gone," she told him. "Don't let anyone push you out. That guy just might try and finish Bakura off if he learns that he didn't kill him the first time around."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Yami said as he glanced down the hall to see if the doctor was completely gone. "I'll be only glad to make that doctor more aggravated than he already is." Chaos folded her arms across her chest and raised a brow.

"Well," she said with a sigh. "Just don't go overboard. We wouldn't want you getting kicked out of _hospital_." Yami rolled his eyes.

"You would enjoy that wouldn't you?" Chaos snickered.

"Every moment of it," she said as she opened the door. "Come on, Ryou. We need to get going." Ryou came out and looked over at Yami.

"Please make sure he'll be okay," he asked the former Pharaoh.

"I will," Yami said. "Go on now. Chaos is going to leave without you." Ryou turned and saw that Chaos was starting down the hall.

"Oh," Ryou said as he took off after the spirit. "Bye, Yami!" Yami just smiled, then went into Bakura's room.

The spirit of the Puzzle sat by the window and watched the snow fall. After a few moments. He saw Chaos and Ryou walk out into the parking lot. They got in Mr. Tashanazi's car, then left the hospital. Yami then turned to look over at Bakura. "How do we get ourselves into these things?" he asked softly.

Ryou sat in the passenger's seat and watched the world go by. They had been at the red light for what seemed like eternity. Chaos growled something under her breath. She then reached across and opened the glove compartment. Several CD cases slid out and landed at Ryou's feet.

"Could you get those, please?" Chaos asked as she looked up and saw the light finally turn green.

"Sure," Ryou replied as he leaned over and collected the fallen CD's. He looked through them. "Can I put this one in?" he asked as he held up the soundtrack to 'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'.

"Go ahead," Chaos answered without looking. Ryou didn't seem fazed by it, he was used to his yami doing the exact same thing. He took out the CD and put it in the CD player.

For several minutes, the two road in silence, except for the music. They reached another red light and Chaos drummed her fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. Ryou just sat back and listened to the fine array of music. But finally, a question escaped his lips.

"How long do you think we'll have to stay at Kaiba's?" he asked. Chaos didn't look over at him. But she seemed to be thinking on how to respond. It took several moments for her to answer.

"As long as it takes for Yami and me to find the guy," she finally answered as the light turned green. Ryou bit his bottom lip.

"How long do you think that will be?"

"I don't know," Chaos said.

They finally reached the Kaiba Mansion, and Chaos parked along the curb outside the gate. She walked up to the gate and pushed the buzzer next the intercom. A few seconds later, a voice replied.

"Who is it, and what do you want?" Chaos raised a brow as she looked back to the car where Ryou was. She then turned back to the intercom.

"That's not really the best way to speak to your elders, Mokuba," she talked into the intercom. "And I mean your _elders_."

"Oops," the boy replied. "Sorry about that, Chaos. I'll open the gate for you."

"Thanks." Chaos walked back to the car and nodded to Ryou, indicating he should get out. She popped the trunk and pulled out Ryou's duffle bag and handed it to the boy. She then took out Yugi and Tazi's things, putting one bag on each shoulder.

The two walked up the doors of the mansion. Before they could knock, the black haired boy opened the door. He smiled widely. "Hi! Seto said you might stop by!" They walked in and dropped the bags on the floor.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" Chaos asked the boy.

"I wasn't feeling good this morning," Mokuba replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "So Seto let me stay home."

Chaos nodded and looked at her watch. "I think I'll hang around for a bit," she said. "I need to talk with Tazi and Yugi when they get here." Mokuba looked over at Ryou.

"You wanna play some video games?" he asked. "Seto bought me this really cool racing game the other day!" Chaos grinned as she looked over at Ryou.

"Go on, kiddo," she said. "I'll take the bags upstairs to the guestrooms."


	5. Chp5

Yay! Getting more and more reviews with this. I'm so happy. I'm glad to see that more people are starting to read it. Thanks for all of you who keep reviewing. Oh and BTW. It's not really that suspicious for Kaiba to have a gun . . . if you watch the Jap version. He takes a gun from Kimo . . . Siiiigh.

Bakura walked out of the drugstore with the box of Tylenol in his hand. He hoped Ryou's headache would go away now. He was about to start home when he thought of something.

Ryou had asked, in a very sweet manner, if Bakura would check to see if the bookstore had gotten a book he had been waiting for. He had said that Bakura wouldn't have to go in, just look through the window. Since the boy was sick, Bakura thought he'd humor him.

The tomb robber walked back the way towards the drugstore, and went into the alley. It was a shortcut towards the bookstore. And the quicker he got home, the quicker he could give Ryou his medicine.

Bakura heard a rustling of something, but assumed it was a mouse running through the trash that littered the alley. Suddenly, a firm hand grabbed him by the shoulder and, before he could fight back, shoved him against the wall. For a moment, he was dazed, but his senses quickly came back with a rush of pain.

The Egyptian felt immense pain in his stomach. His hands made their way towards the pain, and found the hilt to an ancient blade. Warm blood spilled onto his hands and he felt himself grow weak.

In front of him, he saw a hooded figure. His robes were dark and shadows covered his face. A few wisps of black hair escaped from under the hood and Bakura could dizzily see a smirk playing on the man's lips. The man put a hand around the thief's throat and lightly squeezed, knowing that in Bakura's weakened state it would have as much damage as anything else.

Bakura clenched his teeth and now leaned against the wall for support. He shut his eyes tightly and fought for breath. He couldn't believe someone had caught him so off guard.

"Aw," the man's voiced hissed from his lips. "The acclaimed tomb robber, Bakura. You aren't so tough, now are you?" Toying with him, the man twisted the blade a little and Bakura made a small cry.

Not able to speak, Bakura gritted his teeth, not wanting to make any more sounds of pain. The world around him spun when he chose to open his eyes. Darkness threatened to creep up on him, but he fought hard. He felt the man's hot, malicious, breath on his face.

"You were supposed to be hard to get," the man said venomously. "You aren't the only one I'm going to kill you know. Soon, you'll all be dead. The Pharaoh . . . Tashanazi . . ." Bakura opened one eye and glared at him.

"No!" he rasped. He couldn't kill Yami and Chaos! Bakura's body shook in pain, and anger. The man laughed.

"There's not much you can do about it, now is there?" The man twisted his blade once before pulling it out. Bakura gasped. Hands of darkness were threatening to pull him under. He felt his knees buckle, but the man's hand around his throat kept him up.

The man laughed and tightened his grip. Bakura coughed as he held a hand over his wound. With his other hand, he feebly tried to pull the fiend's hand away. His own blood seeped in between his fingers and stained his shirt. Bakura's attacker's smirk grew as he let go and backed away from Bakura.

Bakura fell to his hand and knees, and still held a hand over his wound. The cloaked villain then brutally kicked Bakura about where he had stabbed him. The yami couldn't help but let a agonizing cry tear from his lips. He fell completely to the ground and grimaced in pain.

The attacker used his boot and turned Bakura over onto his back. "You fool," he laughed. "You've proven that the others will die at my hand as well." Bakura could only glare at him. If looks could kill, the man would have been smoldering ashes, six feet under.

Without warning, the man came down and punched Bakura in the stomach. The pain overwhelmed the tomb robber and darkness claimed him. The last thing he heard was the fiend cackling.

Bakura woke with a cry. He had attempted to sit straight up in shock, but pain and weakness pulled him back down. He found himself in a hospital bed, drenched in sweat.

Yami immediately jerked his head up from the magazine he'd found in the backpack Chaos had brought. His hand dropped into his jacket and gripped the gun. When he saw that there was nothing out of place, he let himself relax. His hand slowly pulled away from the gun.

The former ruler of Egypt sat the magazine down and walked over to the bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he laid a hand on the tomb robber's shoulder, who was now laying back with his eyes closed and was taking deep breaths.

"Like I've been hit by a truck," he wheezed. Bakura used the sleeve of his hospital gown to wipe the sweat from his face.

"You look like it too," Yami stated smugly as he pulled his hand away. He hadn't been able to resist the temptation. Bakura had left it hanging out there for him. The said person opened his eyes and looked over at Yami with a warning look.

"At least my hair doesn't always look like its been struck by lightning," he managed. Yami raised a brow.

"Well yours looks like you fell in a bucket of bleach," Yami quickly came back. When it came to his hair, he was rather defensive.

Seeing that the Pharaoh's cheeks were rather flushed, Bakura managed a smirk. Most didn't dare say anything to the King of Games about his hair. Most people anyway. Bakura had done it and lived to tell the tale, he was lucky.

He strained his neck to look around the room. "Where's Ryou?"

"Chaos took him to Kaiba's," Yami said. "We're going to leave our hikaris there until we get this settled." Bakura nodded in approval. He closed his eyes and rested.

"As long as they don't leave," Bakura said. "And who ever it was doesn't see them go there."

"Don't fret over it," Yami instructed. "You need to worry about yourself. You went through quite an ordeal." Bakura snorted.

"You have no idea," he muttered. In his mind, images of the dream came to him. Yami watched as his face became contorted with bad memories. To show his concern, he squeezed the tomb robber's shoulder gently. Bakura opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling.

"Just rest, Bakura," Yami said gently as he released the other's shoulder.

"Easier said than done," Bakura said as he looked away from the Pharaoh. He noticed the backpack on the chair. "Where did this come from?" he asked with curiosity as he reached for the backpack. He could just barely brush it with his fingertips. Yami sighed and walked around the bed and put the backpack on the bed next to Bakura.

"Chaos brought it," Yami said. "I think it was meant to keep you entertained. I found that that dueling magazine you have is rather interesting." Bakura strained himself to look across the room where Yami had been sitting.

"I wasn't finished with that," Bakura stated. "I only got it yesterday."

"I'll give it back when I'm done with the article I was reading," Yami said as he turned and went back to his spot by the window. Bakura tipped the bag over and began to go through its contents. He found the Indiana Jones book and began reading it.

Chaos sat in one of the comfy chairs of the one many rooms of the Kaiba Mansion. It was on the first floor and to the right of the front door. To her left, Ryou and Mokuba were sitting on the floor, in front of a big screen TV. The two were furiously tapping on their controls of the Playstation 2. She had been watching them for a while, but was now drawing in Ryou's sketchpad.

"No!" Mokuba cried as Ryou ran him off the track and crossed the finish line. Chaos looked up and smiled.

"I didn't know you like to play video games that much, Ryou," Chaos said as she looked at the scores flashing on the big screen. Ryou shrugged sheepishly.

"Every once and a while I like to go to the arcade with Joey, Yugi, and Tristan," Ryou said. "But I do play on Yugi's PS2 quite a bit." Mokuba just stared at him.

"I can't believe you beat me!" he cried. He tossed his controller on the ground, but then laughed. "That was fun! Lets do it again!" Ryou smiled and clicked to the main menu.

Chaos smiled and went back to drawing. 'I wonder if Bakura knows how much Ryou likes to play video games,' she thought to herself. 'Maybe we can get jobs to get him a Gameboy Advance for Christmas.'

Tazi walked out of the school with her friends. "Want to come to the arcade with us?" Joey asked as he and Tristan began walking backwards. Yugi and Tazi looked at each other, then shook their heads.

"We're gonna go see how Bakura's doing," Yugi said as he pulled on both of the straps of his backpack. Tristan nodded.

"Yami never did call us like he said he would," Tristan said as he began walking forwards again. "But I really don't blame him."

Joey continued walking backwards. "What about you, Tea?" Tea shook her head.

"Sorry, Joey," she said. "But I have dance lessons." Joey shrugged.

"Okay, that's cool." Then, all five friends saw a limo pull up. The window rolled down and revealed Seto Kaiba.

"Hey, Seto!" Tazi said as she ran up to the limo. "How come you weren't here today?" She let one of her book bag straps slide off her shoulder.

Seto looked up. "I had some work to catch up on. Now get in the limo," he said. Tazi looked at him in a confused manner. Everyone else caught up with her.

"What? Why?" she asked.

"Just get in the limo, Tazi," Seto growled. "You too, Yugi." Tazi turned and looked at Yugi. Joey looked over at Kaiba and raised a brow.

"What are you up to, Kaiba?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Seto said. "Chaos asked me to do this." Tazi's eyes grew slightly.

"Chaos? Something else hasn't happened has it?" she asked worriedly. A million different possibilities ran through her mind. The same went for Yugi. Seto shook his head and the two hikaris let out sighs of relief.

"This is merely for safety reasons," Seto said. "Now come on."

"Okay," Tazi said as she turned to the others. "I guess I'll see you guys." She opened the car door and let Yugi climb inside, then she got in herself. As soon as she closed the door, the limo took off.

"What's going on?" Yugi asked. "Are we going to the hospital?"

"No," Seto said. "To the Kaiba Mansion." Tazi cocked her head one way and Yugi the other. Seto realized that he needed to explain some more. "You're going to stay there until things are settled. Ryou's probably already there waiting. You'll stay in the house and will not go anywhere else. Understood?"

"Not even school?" Tazi asked. Seto shook his head.

"I'll retrieve what work you'll miss," he said. Tazi snapped her fingers in disappointment.

"Darn," she said softly and playfully. It brought a small smile to Seto's face. Yugi laughed a little.

"Have you heard anything about Bakura?" he asked as he leaned forward. Since he was the one that had found him in the alley, he felt he had to know how the thief was. Seto threw one leg over the other and nodded.

"Chaos said he was doing better," he answered. Yugi nodded and looked out the window and watched as they passed the world. He wished that he could go to the hospital to see Yami, but he knew it might put him, or worse, the others in danger. The tri-color haired boy didn't really like the idea of having to be in a lock down in the Kaiba Mansion, but he didn't want to worry Yami.

A few minutes later, they reached the Kaiba Mansion. The limo dropped them off at the gates, then pulled away to park in the garage. The three teens walked up the walkway. Seto opened one of the large, wooden doors, and walked in.

"I'm home!" he called.

"Hi, Big Brother!" Mokuba called from the room to his right. "Ryou's racing me in that game you bought me, and he's beat me three times!" Seto grinned at his brother, and felt a little surprised. Ryou didn't strike him as the videogame type.

"Hello, Kaiba," Ryou called as he waved. Seto nodded and hung his trench coat up on the coat rack. He pulled his shoes off and began to walk in the other room. Yugi and Tazi finally walked in and took off their shoes as well.

"Hi, Kaiba," Chaos said as she looked up from the sketch pad.

"Seto," he corrected as he came up behind her.

"Whatever," she said as she waved it away. The yami set the pad and pencil down, and got up from the chair.

"Yami!" Tazi cried happily as she ran over and hugged her yami tightly. Chaos smiled softly and hugged her aibou back. "I missed you," Tazi whispered as she snuggled up next to her.

"I missed you too, aibou," Chaos said. Tazi pulled away and looked up the half inch difference between them.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. Chaos nodded. She had figured her hikari would think she was down because of Bakura.

"I'm fine," the yami answered. Tazi smiled again and hugged her again. This time, her arms went under the coat, and the felt the leather holster. Confused, she pulled back and lifted her yami's jacket. Her eyes widened as she saw what was there.

"A gun?" she asked incredulously. Chaos bit her lip and looked over at Kaiba who looked over at Chaos with a similar look. They both could tell Tazi wasn't liking the idea. "What are you doing with this?" the light demanded. The room fell silent, and Ryou and Mokuba stopped playing their game.

"It's for safety, Tazi," said Chaos. "In case I would need to defend myself, or Yami." Tazi shook her head in disbelief.

"That's what you have magic for! I can't believe you'd actually _shoot_ someone! Where did you get this?!" Seto cleared his throat.

"I gave it to her," he called softly. "I also gave one to Yami. It's purely for caution. I don't think she'll have to use it."

Tazi looked from Seto to Chaos. "Is it loaded?"

"Yes," Chaos said quietly. Tazi had a look of turmoil on her face.

"I don't believe you! Stay away from me!" She turned and ran out of the room and they could hear her running up the stairs.

"Tazi!" Chaos called sternly as she began to chase after her light. She didn't like her aibou's behavior. Seto stopped her and whispered in her ear.

"Let her go," he whispered. "She needs some time to think things out. I'm sorry, I was hoping she wouldn't find out about the guns." They both knew Tazi wasn't too fond of guns, one had killed her mother when she was two. "I'll talk to her later." Chaos nodded and Seto patted her on the shoulder.

The two turned back to the group. Yugi was the first to approach Chaos. He smiled at her. "How's Yami doing?" he asked politely. The boy hoped that if he changed the topic, everyone's moods would lighten up. Chaos thought for a moment.

"I don't think he slept last night," she admitted. "He looked like crap this morning. But he's holdin' up. Just watch, I'll get back to the hospital and he'll be fast asleep when he's suppose to be watching Bakura." Yugi giggled.

"Well, I hope he gets some rest," he said. "Can you tell him that for me, Chaos?" She ruffled his hair with a broad smile.

"Sure thing," she said as she tilted her head towards Ryou and Mokuba. "You ought to try your 'Game King' stuff against Ryou on that game, he's pretty good." Yugi smiled over at Ryou.

"Sure! How about it, Ryou?" Yugi asked. Ryou nodded.

"I hope you're prepared for some competition!" Mokuba said. "He beat me three times!" Chaos started to walk off towards the door, but then thought of something. She turned back and walked towards Yugi.

"Yugi," she called. The boy turned back around and looked up. "I need to ask of favor."

"Sure!" he chirped. Chaos held out her hand.

"I need the Puzzle," she said. Yugi's brows knitted together. "I'm going to take it to Yami," she explained. "He may need it. I also don't want someone tracking you down with it."

"Oh," Yugi said as he pulled the chain over his head. He held the Puzzle out to her. "Here," he said. "Tell him that I hope he stays safe." Chaos took the puzzle and nodded.

"Will do." She walked over to Ryou, bent down, and gave him a partial hug. "Be good," she told him playfully.

"If I have to," he said as he rolled his eyes in a joking matter.

"Brat," Chaos called him as she dope slapped him, just barely brushing the tips of his white hair on the back of his head. She high-fived Mokuba, then went to make her exit. Seto met her at the door as she was putting on her shoes.

"Take care," Seto advised. "I know Tazi and the rest of us would hate for you to get injured." Chaos didn't reply. She just glanced up the stairs, scowled, then walked out the door.

Seto closed the door and turned back towards the others as he heard the soft click. As he began to walk to the other room, he looked up the stairs. Near the railing, he saw Tazi as she whipped around and went down the hall. Seto sighed, then went to talk to his brother.

When Chaos got back to the hospital, she felt better than she had at the Kaiba Mansion. The tension had grown as she was there, after Tazi had ran away from her. It burned, right to her soul, but she knew it couldn't have been helped. Now, she was with people like her. People from her time, even if she didn't remember it.

As she rode in the elevator, she held the Millennium Puzzle in her hands. The cool metal chain rested in her palms and the point of the pyramid threatened to push her hands apart. She could feel the mystical energies it was giving off and her Millennium Item seemed to be feeding off them.

The elevator reached the fifth floor and Chaos stepped out. She walked down the hall and to the door. The young woman opened the door and walked in. She looked at the other two yamis and smiled sheepishly.

Yami had fallen asleep in the chair by the window. His head rested against the wall and a magazine was on his lap, with his thumb keeping the page. Chaos thought back to what she had told Yugi, she hadn't actually thought it would happen.

Bakura laid on his back with a manga over his face. His white hair was sprawled out on the pillow and the his covers were pulled down to his waist. The items that Chaos had packed in the book bag littered the bed.

Chaos shook her head and walked over to Yami. She gently pulled the magazine from his hand, keeping the page, and laid it on the window sill. She then laid the Puzzle in his hand. It started to fall out and Chaos placed it back in his palm.

"If he doesn't want it, I'll take it," a voice behind Chaos said. She shot Bakura a dirty look.

"I'm sure you would," the yami said as she turned away from the former Pharaoh. "So you were faking your sleep?" Bakura took the manga away from his face and propped himself up on his elbow.

"Yes," he said. "My Ring sensed both the energies of the Bracelet and that of the Puzzle, so I knew you were coming. Once again, I am the master." Chaos raised an eyebrow.

"Of being a baka?" Bakura rolled his eyes at her.

"Forget it," he said as he eased himself back down. He winced a little, but was able to lay down without any more pain. "I don't remember the Pharaoh falling asleep though." Chaos sat in the chair next to the bed.

"I'm glad he did whenever he did," she said. "He didn't sleep at all last night." Bakura thought.

"He works himself like that all the time," he commented. "I wouldn't be surprised if he has insomnia or something." It was Chaos's turn to roll her eyes.

"It seems that you're feeling better," Chaos said with a smile.

"Not really," Bakura replied. He stifled a yawn. "Talking is about all I'm capable of at this point." The thief tried to hide another yawn.

"And it looks like you've even overdone that," Chaos commented as she took one of the mangas that was lying on the bed. "You should get some rest." Bakura scowled.

"You're not the first to tell me that," he growled. "I don't want to rest, I don't want to be in this hospital, I don't want to put up with the Pharaoh's crap, and I certainly don't want you babying me." Chaos threw one leg over the other and opened up the manga.

"Well I _do want_ you to get better," she replied calmly. "So rest!" Bakura stuck his tongue out at her and pulled the covers up on himself. He closed his eyes and tried to rest. After several moments, Bakura found that he wasn't able to relax.

"I can't sleep," he complained. He opened one eye and looked over at Chaos. She didn't even look over at him.

"You would if you would actually try to relax," she said as she turned the page. Bakura scowled and tried to sit up.

"Did you see a remote to the TV anywhere?" he asked as he fell back onto his elbow and looked around.

"No, now go to sleep," Chaos told him sternly. She wasn't about to have the television on while Yami was sleeping, and she had hoped that Bakura would sleep too. Normally, Chaos wouldn't care if the Pharaoh was asleep or not, but things were a little different at the moment.

"Fine, I'll look for it myself," Bakura said as forced himself up. He was about to try to slide out of the bed when Chaos put down at the manga and looked at him with disbelief.

"Yami Bakura Ryou! Get back in that bed right now!" she shouted. Bakura continued to try to get out, but suddenly felt lightheaded. He held his head in his hand and suddenly felt himself falling over.

Chaos jumped up and caught him. "Bakayaro!" she hissed. "If I had any sense at all I'd let you fall out of this bed and let the doctor find you lying there on the floor!" She heard Bakura mumble something as he sank further into her arms. Chaos softened a little and began to gently pull him back onto the bed. "But I don't have any sense, so I'll put you right back in bed where you're going to stay," she add softly.

Once Bakura was back in bed, Chaos pulled the covers back on him. She took a deep breath a blew it back out in a sigh. She figured that Bakura had been calling to his Millennium Ring for strength and had felt better than he was.

The thief muttered something else that sounded like a thanks. Chaos watched as his eyes closed completely. "Sleep, Baku-chan," she whispered. "Just sleep."

"Some of us would like that as well," a familiar voice spoke. Chaos looked up and saw Yami standing on the other side of the bed. Chaos grinned sheepishly.

"Did I wake you?" she asked.

"Yes," Yami answered.

"Sorry," Chaos apologized. Yami waved it away.

"I shouldn't have been sleeping in the first place. I was suppose to be watching him remember?" Chaos walked over to the side of the bed Yami was on.

"Yeah, but you were tired," she said as she looked out the window. "You said you didn't get any sleep last night."

"That's not an excuse," Yami replied as he looked out the window as well. He ran his fingers across the front of the Puzzle. "Thank you, for bringing the Puzzle to me," he said as he walked over to the window, next to Chaos. "I was afraid Yugi would get hurt if he still had it." Chaos stuck her hands in her coat pockets and shrugged.

"Just doing what I can to help." She then looked down at the floor. "Even when I can't help my own aibou."


	6. Chp6

Hehehehe . . . XD; One quick note here I guess. Someone asked about one of the words back in chapter two I believe it was. Onegai is Japanese for please. If you don't know what a word is and you're pretty sure that it's not Eglish, your best bet is to go look it up in a Jap-English Dictionary, kay?

Seto Kaiba mostly stood back and watched the other teens as the night grew near. Ryou, Yugi, and Mokuba continued to play on the Playstation 2, and Kaiba watched for a while. After a while, around five in the evening, he had gotten up and went to work on some paper work in his room. As he walked down the hallway of the second story, he looked into one room and saw Tazi lying on the bed, listening to her headphones.

She had not come out since Chaos had left. For a moment, Seto considered going in to talk to her, but decided that she needed some more time. He went the third story, where his bedroom was located. There, he sat at his desk and turned on his laptop.

No more than five minutes later, he heard small feet running down the hallway toward his bedroom. "Big Brother?" a young voice called as a head of black hair stuck itself in the doorway.

"Yeah, kid?" Seto asked as he started to type. Seeing that his brother wasn't going to try to shoo him away or anything, Mokuba ran in and dove onto the large bed.

"What are we having for dinner?" Mokuba laid on his stomach and swung his feet in the air.

"What do you want to have?" the older of the two asked as he opened a file and looked it over.

"Pizza!" Mokuba cried as he rolled off the bed and walked over to his brother. "Can we have pizza, Seto? Please?" Seto looked down and saw the puppy-dog face. There was no saying no to that.

"I guess," Seto said with a sigh. He didn't really care what they ate tonight. He just wanted to get some work done.

"Yeah! Thanks, Big Brother! I'll go ask what Yugi and Ryou want on their pizza!" With that, the little boy ran out of the room and down the hallway. A few seconds later, Seto heard a thud. "I'm okay!" Mokuba called as he continued to run down the hall.

Seto smiled to himself. Mokuba didn't seem to care what the circumstances were. Having Ryou, Yugi, and Tazi over was just like having a slumber party to him. The older boy thought for a moment, then shut his computer down.

'One night of relaxation wouldn't kill me,' he thought as he walked out of the room.

Bakura had fallen asleep after his little attempt to get out of bed and hadn't awoken since. Chaos had gone down to the cafeteria and brought back a couple sandwiches and coffee. Yami and Chaos had talked for a while, but then ran out of things to say. That wasn't entirely true, but they lost interest in talking after a period of time.

Chaos was now occupying the chair by the window, and Yami sat next to Bakura's bed. Both were fast asleep. The clock on the wall read ten-thirty at night. Chaos was turning her head back and forth and shifting slightly in her sleep. She whimpered quietly.

These sounds were loud enough to wake Bakura. He was drowsy at first, but then heard the sounds more clearly. The thief squinted his eyes in the darkness to see what was going on. When he saw that Chaos was having fits in her sleep, he turned to Yami.

"Hey, Pharaoh!" he hissed. "Wake up!" When Yami didn't respond, Bakura picked up a manga and threw it at him. It hit its target in the chest. The tri-color haired young man stirred then cracked open one eye.

"What do you want, Tomb Robber?" he asked. Bakura glared over at him.

"Chaos is having a nightmare," he said as he nodded his head in Chaos's direction. The young woman cried out and a few tears streamed down her cheeks. Yami looked over to her and sat up straighter.

"That must be some nightmare," Yami said with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Go wake her up!" Bakura demanded. He didn't like watching his friend cry like that. Unfortunately, he was too weak to help her, which was all the more annoying.

Yami got up and walked towards her. As he come near, she lashed out and almost kicked him in the shin. The once Pharaoh jumped back out of caution. He then saw more tears. "Stop!" Chaos cried out as she gripped the arms of her chair. Yami Yugi tilted his head to the side.

"Chaos?" he whispered quietly.

Chaos was on her hands and knees, beaten and bleeding. Darkness surrounded her and she felt cold. She was shaking furiously and tears streamed down her face. In the distance, she could hear Yami and Bakura, screaming in pain. She wanted to help them, but she was too weak to move.

"Help me, Chaos!" Bakura begged. He screamed horrifically as the sound of a whip meeting flesh was heard. "_PLEASE!_" His screams continued to ram in her ears.

"Chaos!" Yami cried out. "I need your help!" She heard him fall to the ground and cry in pain.

"Bakura . . ." she sobbed. "Yami . . . I can't . . ." A vicious laugh taunted her. Chaos felt blood run up to her fingers as she realized that she could no longer hear Yami. Her tears splashed to the floor, mixing with the crimson. The laugh grew louder.

"One down," the menacing voice hissed. "One to go." Chaos felt sobs choke her throat and she shut her eyes tightly.

"No . . ." she cried brokenly. "Please no . . ." Bakura's screamed, causing Chaos to flinch. "Stop!" she screamed. The maniacal laughter boomed.

"What's the matter, Tashanazi?" the voice taunted. "Broken your wings?" Chaos looked to where the voice was coming from. A figure in a black cloak walked before her, an ancient blade twirling in his hand.

"_CHAOS_!" Bakura screamed. The fiend turned and snarled.

"Silence, fool!" he shouted. Fire sprung out around them, but the darkness still consumed them.

Chaos felt cold still, but the flames licked the air near her, leaving a smoky trail behind. Blood, tears, fire, darkness. Blood, tears, fire darkness. They surrounded her, consumed her. She couldn't escape. There was no way out.

"No one can help you now," the fiend hissed venomously. "You're all alone." Chaos sobbed and the flames drew closer. Fire seemed to be above her, but it did not burn her.

"No!" she screamed as the flames consumed her entire being. Chaos's eyes flew open. She drew her gun and pointed it in front of her.

Yami ceased shaking Chaos as he felt the muzzle of a gun jam into his gut. His heart pounded in his ears and he breathed very slowly. All of his muscles tensed and he slowly let go of Chaos's shoulders. Beads of sweat broke out along his forehead. Time stood still for what seemed eternity.

The gun crashed onto the floor and Yami about fainted. Chaos took shaky breaths as she looked down at her violently shaking hands. In the background, she could hear Bakura, demanding to know if she was all right. Several tears fell. "Yami, I . . ." The words came out choked.

Yami recomposed himself and took a deep breath. "It's alright," he said softly. Chaos shook her head. She fell forward out of the chair and onto her hands and knees.

"He was there . . ." she whispered. "He's here . . . In Domino . . ." Yami's eyes widened a little as he looked down at her.

"Who?" he demanded.

"Him," she whispered. "_Him!_"

Yami looked over at Bakura. He had a look of understanding on his face. The thief motioned for Yami to get her over to him. Yami bent down and helped the shaky Millennium Item holder up.

Once she was next to Bakura's bed, Bakura made her get down on her knees so he could look her over. After seeing that there were no cuts, blood, or bruises, he thumbed away the tears. Bakura was mostly satisfied when they weren't replaced. "Do you remember what he looked like?" he asked. Chaos nodded shakily. "Show me."

Chaos used her Millennium Bracelet to show an illusionary image of the cloaked fiend. After a few seconds, Bakura nodded. "That's him alright," he confirmed. Yami walked up to the illusion for a closer look.

"Not a very good picture," he commented. "It's quite vague." Bakura scowled.

"Well, that's about all I saw too," he snapped. "I'm not really sure I would want to see his face."

The image faded and Chaos sank to a sitting position. Bakura let his hand slide off the bed. A few moments later, he felt a cold, shaky one intertwine with his. He could tell his friend was mentally banged up from the dream.

"That was no ordinary dream," he told Yami. "He is definitely at work here, Pharaoh." Yami nodded solemnly. He walked over back towards the window. The Pharaoh bent down, and picked up Chaos's gun.

Chaos watched as Yami walked over to her and held the gun out to her. Carefully, she took it and slid it back into its holster. "Thanks," she whispered. Yami nodded and sat in her chair.

Bakura squeezed her hand. "Are you all right?" he asked softly.

"Yes," a shaky voice answered. The cold hand tried to slide out of his, but he gripped it tightly.

"You sure?" he demanded. Chaos tried to get her hand out of his, but he wouldn't let go.

"Let go, Bakura," she pleaded softly. Her voice was still shaky. "Please . . ."

"Alright," he said gently. He released her hand. "Come and sit by me." Chaos complied and got up and walked over to the chair. She sat down and Bakura looked into her eyes. They looked haunted.

"I don't want to go back to sleep," she whispered. "I can't." Bakura held out his hand and she took it. Bakura then reached under his covers and placed a hand on the Ring. He sent soothing thoughts to his friend and mystical energies to make her relax.

Chaos saw what he was doing and tried to yank away, but it was too late. Several moments later, she sank into the chair into a peaceful slumber. Bakura let go of her hand and felt himself relax a little more.

"We've certainly gotten ourselves into a mess this time," Yami said from his spot by the window. Bakura looked over to the Pharaoh with a brow raised.

"You think?" he asked. Yami smirked.

"I sense sarcasm in your voice," Yami replied. Bakura rolled his eyes at him.

"Baka," he growled. The Pharaoh's smirk grew. "Wipe that imbecilic grin off your face this instant, Pharaoh," Bakura threatened. Yami shrugged and stopped smirking.

"I didn't mean any offense," Yami said coolly as he leaned back in his chair.

"But you're so good at it," Bakura said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He laid back down and sighed. "But you are right, Pharaoh," he began quietly. "We're in trouble." Yami was tempted to reply with another conceded comment to make Bakura ticked, but decided against it.

"Indeed," the former Pharaoh replied. "But until we can think of how to get ourselves out. I suggest we rest up." Yami lounged in the chair and closed his eyes. Bakura smirked.

"Is that a suggestion, or an order?" Yami opened one eye and glared at him.

"What did I say, Tomb Robber?" he snapped. Bakura picked up that the other spirit was grouchy. He obviously didn't like being awoken in the middle of the night.

"Fine," Bakura said as he looked away from him. "Goodnight."

He heard Yami reply with something similar, then drift off to sleep. The thief looked over at his friend. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully now, much to his relief.

The Spirit of the Ring wondered what his hikari was doing. Sleeping, he hoped, but that was most likely wishful thinking. Bakura pulled the covers up on himself and slowly drifted to sleep as well.

"I lost again!" Mokuba exclaimed as he tossed the remote over his shoulder. "Sheesh!" Yugi and Ryou laughed at the boy's antics.

"You're really good at this, Ryou," Yugi said as he took Mokuba's spot. Ryou smiled.

"Thanks, Yugi," he beamed as he set the game back up. "Now lets see if you can beat me this time!"

Mokuba walked over to his brother, who was sitting on the couch. He sat down and cuddled up next to Seto. "I just can't win," he said in a defeated matter. But he didn't sound too upset, he had been having fun.

Seto put an arm around his brother and hugged him. "You will, someday," he said comfortingly. Mokuba snuggled up next to his older brother. He tried to stifle the yawn, but failed. Kaiba looked at his watch. "It's about time you went to bed, little man," he said. Mokuba made a whiny sound.

"Do I have to?"

"What do you think?"

"Yes," Mokuba said as he slid off the couch. He began to make his way towards the stairs. He then turned and with huge, puppy-dog eyes, he looked at his brother. "Will you come tuck me in, Seto?" he pleaded.

The other two teens looked at the CEO and grinned. Seto sighed and pulled himself off the couch. "Duty calls," he said as he chased after Mokuba. The little boy began to run away, but the elder caught him. "Gotcha!" Kaiba said as he scooped up his little brother. Mokuba giggled and wrapped his arms around Seto's neck as he began to carry him up the stairs.

"Goodnight, guys!" Mokuba called as he waved.

"Night, Mokuba!" the two boys said. As the Kaiba Brothers disappeared up the stairs, Yugi turned to Ryou.

"He's in a really good mood tonight," he commented as he turned back to the game.

"Kaiba?"

"Yeah. I wonder if he's like this all the time when he's home," Yugi said as he chose his racer. Ryou did the same.

"I bet he is," the white haired boy said. "He probably likes being away from everyone. Here he can have time to himself and with Mokuba." Yugi nodded in agreement.

Seto tucked Mokuba in. "I love you, Seto," Mokuba said as he sat up to kiss him on the cheek.

"I love you too, kid," Seto replied as he made Mokuba lay back down so he could re-tuck him. He then kissed the younger on the cheek and turned the lamp on the nightstand off.

Kaiba walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. The brown haired young man walked down to the next floor. It was strangely silent. He walked down to Tazi's room and saw that she had fallen asleep.

For a moment, he considered waking her up, considering that she hadn't eaten anything, but then decided against it. Seto walked over to Tazi, took her head phones off, and laid them on the nightstand. Then, he took a blanket from the closest and covered her with it.

He stepped back and sighed. It had been a long day, and a strange one at that. With that final thought, he walked to the doorway, shut off the light, and slowly closed the door.

"Seto?" a voice called from inside.

'Crap,' he thought as he stopped in mid-step. "Yes?" he asked as he opened the door again.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Tazi asked as she rolled onto her side to look at her friend.

"The yamis?" Kaiba asked. The girl nodded and Seto smiled. "Of course, it's each other they have to worry about." Tazi smiled tiredly. She whispered a thanks and Seto closed the door again.

The CEO of Kaiba Corp walked back down to the main floor and saw that Ryou and Yugi were turning off the TV and PS2. When they heard him coming down the steps, they turned around.

"We decided that we'd be heading off to bed," Ryou said as he sat the remote on the coffee table. Yugi nodded in agreement. Seto just shrugged.

"That's fine with me. But who won?" he asked casually.

"We didn't finish," Yugi said. "But Ryou would have probably beaten me." Seto shook his head.

"Yami would be aghast," he said with a smirk. "The Pharaoh's boy losing to the hikari of a Tomb Robber." Both boys smiled and walked past him.

"Goodnight, Kaiba," Ryou said as he made his way up the stairs.

"See you in the morning," Yugi said as he followed.

When they finally were out of sight, Seto sighed. He finally had the house to himself. The boy walked over to couch and sprawled out on it. He picked up the DVD remote and turned on the movie he had begun two nights ago.

Bakura heard someone knock on the door and he was pulled out of his slumber. The nurse came in and smiled at him. "How are you feeling this morning?" she asked kindly. Bakura thought for a moment, he could either scare her, be rude, or play along.

'To scare the crap out of her, or not to scare the crap out of her,' he thought. 'That, is the question.' He then remembered that Yami Yugi was over by the window. "Quite better actually," he grunted. The nurse wrote something down on her clipboard.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said sweetly. Inwardly, Bakura wondered if he was going to be sick. But as he looked at her, he realized that she was rather attractive. So maybe she could get away with it just this once. "I'll be sure to tell Dr. Hikura that." With that, she turned to the heart monitor and other mechanisms and jotted a few things down.

When she turned back around, she seemed to notice Chaos and Yami for the first time. "Visiting hours were over at nine last night, and do not begin until nine today. Unless they're family?"

'I'm going to kill myself for this later,' Bakura thought. 'That is, if they don't kill me first.' "Yes, she's my sister, and he's my brother-in-law." The nurse thought for a moment, but she seemed to buy it. She then walked out and closed the door behind her.

Chaos stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She rubbed them slightly, then yawned. The happenings of the previous night still seemed to be lingering slightly, but other than that, she seemed alright. "Are you okay?" Bakura asked as he propped himself up on his elbow.

"Yeah," she said as she yawned. "How about you?"

"Yes," Bakura replied. Chaos suddenly jumped up.

"Well you ain't going to be when I get through with you!" she shouted as she rolled up her sleeves. "Now being your sister I don't mind, but Yami's wife?!" Bakura scooted away from her until he was on the edge of the bed.

Yami had awoken from Chaos's outburst, but hadn't really heard what had happened. "What'd I miss?" he asked groggily. Chaos sighed heavily, then walked over to Yami.

"Come on, honey," she growled with a hint of a sickeningly sweet voice. "Let's go get some breakfast. I'm just famished." She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the door. Yami looked over at Bakura with confusion. The Tomb Robber just turned away and whistled innocently. Suddenly, it dawned on Yami that he'd done something that was going to tick him off.

"Tomb Robber, when I . . ." Yami said as he dragged out the door.

Bakura let out a heavy sigh. Chaos had probably just saved him, for the meantime. She had been too mad to do anything else. He momentarily thought of what Yami might have done to him, and let out another sigh. "Chaos," he spoke in the empty room. "This is why you are my dearest friend. You save me from even yourself."


	7. Chp7

Chaos dragged Yami down towards the cafeteria. She wanted him at least a hundred feet away from Bakura when she told him the roles they would now have to play. She wanted to get herself a hundred a feet away from the Tomb Robber when she told Yami. Chaos knew that it had been a last minute thing, but it was still annoying.

She found a table in the corner and let herself fall into the chair against the wall. Yami pulled out his chair sat a slight bit more gracefully. The Pharaoh watched her for a moment as she watched the people move around the room. "What did he do?"

"Huh?" Chaos asked as she come back to reality.

"Bakura," Yami said with a annoyed tone. "What did he do? And don't tell me nothing." Chaos sighed and blew her bangs out of her eyes. She had cooled down and didn't feel like ratting on her friend.

"Just for future reference, Yami," she began. "We'll all laugh about this later."

"Chaos . . ." Yami warned sternly.

"Bakurasaidthatweweremarriedtothenursesowecouldstayinhisroombecauseonlyfamilymembersareallowed," she said quickly and quietly. Yami frowned.

"Nani? Try saying that a little slower," he said as he leaned forward. "And remember, I've got you outmaneuvered. You're in a corner."

"Bakura told the nurse that we were married because only family members are allowed in the room after visiting hours," Chaos muttered as she looked down at the floor. The tile pattern had become fascinating. She heard Yami growl.

"That no good, Tomb Robber . . ." Yami growled. "He's lucky to be in that hospital bed." Chaos couldn't help but laugh at him.

"I didn't like it either, Yam-chan," she told him. "But you're stuck with me, honey. There are no divorce papers in this marriage." Yami banged his head against the table. Between Bakura's lie and the nicknames she was throwing at him, he was gaining a major headache.

"I think you two are the worst thing that ever happened to me," Yami moaned. Chaos pouted.

"Don't say that, Pharaoh," Chaos pleaded. "You know your life would be boring without us."

"I could only hope," Yami said as he sat up. "I would like just one . . ." He suddenly turned around and his eyes quickly scanned the cafeteria.

"What is it?" Chaos demanded as she looked from Yami to the rest of the cafeteria. Her skin began to crawl and she felt a tingling on the back of her neck.

"I sense a dark presence," Yami announced quietly. "But I don't see anything."

"I feel it too," Chaos spoke softly as she felt the dark essence in her mind. Her blood ran cold. "It's him!" she cried. She bolted straight up, pushed her chair back against the wall and pushed the flimsy table forward. She began to run out of the cafeteria. "We have to get back to Bakura!"

"Chaos, wait!" Yami called as he ran after her. He couldn't have her going up there to face that fiend alone. He struggled, but finally caught up with her.

As they rounded the corner, both sets of boots slid on the slick floor. Both yamis regathered their bearings and ran to the elevator. Chaos pressed the button. When the elevator didn't open right away, she slammed her fist against the metal doors. "Infernal machine!" she shouted. Yami darted down the hall.

"Come on! We'll take the stairs!" he shouted as he skidded to a halt and flung open the door to the stairway. Chaos chased after him and took the steps two at a time. Memories of her nightmare came back to her and she ran harder.

Yami was slightly ahead of her and came to a halt next to a door. He looked at the sign and scowled. It was only the third floor. Chaos had caught up to him and he took the next flight of stairs.

Finally, they reached the fifth floor. Yami pulled opened the door and ran down the hall. Chaos was hot on his heels. They had ended up at the other end of the building. As they ran, they caught several on lookers who stared at them. Suddenly, they reached a place in the hall where it went three other ways. Both came to a halt.

"Which way?" Chaos asked as she looked desperately for a sign to tell them the room numbers. "I can't find a sign."

Yami growled in frustration. Suddenly, he heard a buzzing noise. He looked in the general direction of the sound and saw a soft glow coming from under Chaos's left sleeve. "Chaos, your Bracelet! It should tell us the way!"

'Chaos!' a hoarse voice cried in her mind. As soon as it came, it was gone. "Bakura!" she whispered. She shot out her left hand and her Bracelet let off a pulsing, gold glow. "Show me the way to Bakura!" she commanded. It suddenly pulled her to the left.

The two Egyptians dashed down the hall and Yami had to dodge a nurse and Chaos almost ran into a patient. Suddenly, the Bracelet stopped pulling. She looked up and saw that they were standing at Bakura's door.

Yami drew his gun and Chaos did the same. Then together, they kicked the door open, slightly knocking it off the top hinge. Yami was the first in.

He immediately saw the cloaked figure that was over Bakura and suffocating him with a pillow. The thief was still weak and now barely fighting back. Chaos came in behind Yami.

"Why don't you try someone who can stand on their own two feet!" she shouted as she lowered her gun. Yami looked behind him with shock at her strong outburst.

The fiend looked up, but they could not see his face. A smirk played on his pale lips and cold features. Wisps of black and purple hair escaped his hood and he chuckled. "If it isn't the Pharaoh and his little pet," he hissed. "I'll finish you off later." The man released Bakura from the death hold and ran for the window.

Yami raised his gun and fired. He failed to hit the cloaked fiend and shattered the window. The man ran through the broken window and onto the rooftop. Yami did not hesitate to run after him.

Chaos started to shout to Yami, but then turned and ran to Bakura. She quickly checked to see if he was alright. The spirit found that the fiend had taken the pointers of the Ring and had driven them into the thief around his previous wound. Bakura was gasping for breath.

The spirit of the Bracelet slammed her fist onto the call button for the nurse. "Don't leave him to fight alone . . ." Bakura rasped. Then, he slipped into oblivion. Chaos looked out the window and saw Yami begin to go down the fire escape. She heard footsteps running down the hall. Bakura would be all right, she hoped. Chaos stroked his cheek, then ran out the window.

She quickly discovered that the rooftop was covered in ice. The young woman skidded across the rooftop, then slid down the latter by putting her feet on the sides of it. Chaos finally reached the bottom and quickly looked in every direction to spot Yami. He was no where to be seen. "Crap!" she hissed. "Bracelet, guide me to Yami!" The Bracelet tugged her forward and she ran.

After several minutes, she reached a corner and stopped to catch her breath. It made small clouds in the chilled air. This was why she hated the cold. The Bracelet threatened to pull itself off her wrist. "I'm going as fast as I can!" Suddenly, she heard several car horns cut through the late morning air. Chaos looked to her left and saw that Yami had gotten stuck in the middle of the road, and almost hit by a car.

Without any more thought, Chaos dashed down the road. "Yami!" she shouted. "Yami! Wait for me! You can't fight him alone!" She soon realized that he couldn't hear her. For he made his way out of the cars and continued to chase after the cloaked figure who had disappeared into an alleyway. "Darn it, Pharaoh!" She then pushed herself to run faster.

Yami weaved his way out of the cars and chased after the culprit. He heard Chaos shout for him to wait. But he couldn't lose him now. The man had finally shown himself, and had almost succeeded in finishing off Bakura. If they lost him now, they would have to wait on pins and needles again for him to reappear.

The Pharaoh saw a piece of the black cloak disappear into the alley. He was quick to follow it. Once he reached the alley, he saw a silhouette of the figure ahead of him. Yami was tempted to shout for him to stop, but he knew that it would do no good.

It was strange that the man had made no real attempt to lose him. He wanted Yami to follow him. But where was he leading him? 'I'll just have to follow him and find out,' he thought fiercely as he gripped his gun tightly. If he got a clear shot, he would not hesitate to shoot. It was not only him that was in danger, but possibly his aibou as well, and that left no room for mercy.

As he ran, the Pharaoh took time to look at what part of town he was in. Yami knew this area well, it was near the park where Yugi and friends had been having snow wars after school. So the fiend had chosen his battle ground. Then the park it would be.

They reached the end of the sidewalk and they began to trudge through the snow. Yami growled in aggravation as the snow soaked his pants, causing his teeth to chatter. He regretted that he was not dressed properly for the weather.

Chaos made it to the alleyway and felt herself begin to grow cold. She broke out of the alleyway and saw that she had again lost them. Her Bracelet immediately picked up the trail and she followed quickly.

As she drew nearer, she began to also recognize where she was headed. But why the park? It wasn't the best battleground to find shelter. Was it because this fiend was ready for an all out war? If he was, she and Yami would have to be ready as well.

"Where are you, Pharaoh?!" she hissed as she dashed through a puddle, soaking her pants. Then, she found herself running through fresh snow. She looked up and saw that she had found Yami. He was still far from her, but there was a chance she could catch up. "Wait!" she called as she tried to catch up to him.

Unfortunately, Yami paid her no heed and continued to chase after the fiend. The cloaked man then ran across the frozen lake. From Chaos's point of view, it seemed very obvious that he wanted Yami to follow. But Yami, being in a state of rage, followed furiously.

Once the fiend reached the land once again, he turned around and smirked. Yami only continued the chase and did not notice the gun that was being drawn from his robes. The fiend took aim, and fired.

"Yami!" Chaos screamed as she tripped and fell in the snow. For a moment, she believed that her heart had stopped. Quickly, she got back up to see what happened. To her surprise, the shot fell short and smashed into the ice at Yami's feet.

The Pharaoh tried to stop, but found the ice slicker than he realized. He slipped and fell backwards. His head crashed painfully against the ice, stunning him for the moment. As the rest of his body hit the ice, it cracked and he fell into the frigid waters.

"No!" Chaos cried as she quickly scrambled to reach him. She saw the fiend as he chanted a few words. As she reached the lake and skidded across, she watched in horror as the spot froze completely back over, trapping Yami beneath the surface.


	8. Chp8

Hey! Thanks to all of you who have been reading and reviewing. It's nice to come home from school and read these reviews. I hope you all continue to enjoy this and please go check out my other stories! And thanks for your concern about Bakura, I love'im too!! XD

Chaos crashed to her knees as she reached the spot where Yami had fallen in. To her disgust, the fiend simply ran away; he ran away. And she was letting him. But at the moment, she needed to get Yami out of the icy water from which he was trapped in.

After several moments of desperate pounding on the ice furiously with her fists, she found that it would take all her strength to break the newly formed ice patch. Chaos stood up and furiously and stomped with both feet on the ice. Finally, after several agonizing minutes, it cracked a little. The spirit of the Bracelet stopped and took an uneasy breath. She didn't wish to fall in herself. Chaos began to then stomp with one foot.

Suddenly, the ice gave out and her leg plunged into the icy water. Chaos's other leg dropped to her knee and Chaos had to dig into the ice to keep herself from sliding in. Carefully, the spirit pulled her leg out and looked into the water. There was no sign of the former Pharaoh.

'How can I ever face Yugi?' Chaos thought as she held her head in her hands. 'If only I could have caught up with him!' She pounded her fist of the ice. 'No! He's down there, and he's alive!'

After stripping off her coat, Chaos dove into the frigid waters. Because there was no light, she could only guide herself by the soft, pulsing glow of the Millennium Bracelet. Several minutes later, she went back to the surface to get more air. She took big gulp, then plunged back down. This time, she would not come back up until she found Yami.

Now she was able to get to the bottom of the lake. To her despair, she could find nothing. For some odd reason, her Bracelet couldn't really lead her to Yami either. Chaos mentally growled in frustration.

Just about when she had lost hope, her phoenix pendant's crystal began to glow. She looked down at it curiously and saw that it was pointing to her right. The spirit looked forward and saw a glint of gold a few feet away.

She swam towards where she'd seen the glint and her eyes flashed with horror. Yami was laying at the bottom of the lake, completely lifeless. Chaos swam over to him. The ice above them cut off most light, but gave Yami's face a too pale complexion.

The spirit of the Bracelet clamped an arm around his waist and pushed off to the surface. As she broke through the top of the water, she realized how out of breath she'd been. Chaos put one elbow on the ice, and pulled Yami's head above the surface. When he didn't give any response, Chaos felt panic rise in her throat.

After several moments of struggling, she was able to pull herself, and Yami, out of the water. Not wanting to risk the ice breaking on either of them, Chaos pulled her friend across the lake and onto shore. Once she made it, she laid Yami onto the cold ground blanketed in snow.

Chaos pressed her ear against his chest, faintly, she heard a heartbeat. "Don't you die on me now, Pharaoh!" she whispered. Gently, she pressed both hands upon his chest. Suddenly, water trickled out of his mouth, then he coughed up a quite bit more. When she was sure that all the water was out of his lungs, she pulled him into her lap. With care, she wrapped him in her jacket.

"Yami?" she said softly as she gently shook him. There was no response. "Yami!" Out of fright and aggravation, she smacked him, hoping to startle him awake. When she didn't even receive a flicker of an eyelid, Chaos bit her lip and felt tears come to her eyes. "No . . ." The Egyptian pulled the Pharaoh close to her and felt hot tears trickle down her cheeks.

They were both soaked and freezing cold, and Yami had nearly drowned. Chaos heard raspy breath, but she was still frightened. Yami was always the serious one, the strong one. Nothing had ever really hurt him before. He had seemed almost invincible. She had to get him to shelter, and somewhere safe.

The young woman thought for a moment. The closest place she knew was the Game Shop. Wrapping the jacket tightly around Yami, Chaos got up and tried to pick up her friend. He was the same size as she was, so it wasn't as heavy as she thought, but she felt cold and tired. She then began to half carry, half drag her friend out of the park.

Ryou, Yugi, Seto, Mokuba, and even Tazi were sitting at the dinning table, eating a late breakfast and an early lunch of vegetable soup, when Yugi suddenly shook involuntarily and dropped his spoon.

"Yami!" he cried as he gripped the table. All the others looked at him with wide eyes. Ryou was the first to respond. He took a hold of his friends arm and looked at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Yugi swallowed and blinked a few times.

"I'm . . . I'm not sure . . . Our connection was suddenly back up and I felt pain . . ." Yugi whimpered. The hikaris had learned that their yamis had cut off all mental communications once Chaos had left with the Millennium Puzzle.

Tazi looked away. She hadn't felt anything from Chaos, but that didn't mean something wasn't wrong with her. 'Please be all right,' she thought. The teen was sure that she would have felt something, but it still scared her.

Yugi got out of the chair and ran for the door. "Yugi!" all of the them called. Seto was the first to catch the boy. He ended up tackling him and taking him to the floor.

"I have to get to Yami!" Yugi screamed as he struggled to get out of Seto's sure and firm grip. "Let go, Kaiba!"

"It's not safe, Yugi!" Ryou exclaimed. He ran over and knelt next to the struggling teen. Yugi tried to kick Kaiba, but he held the smaller boy tightly.

"I don't care! Yami needs my help!" Yugi exclaimed as he tried to push Seto's arm away.

Tazi and Mokuba were still over at the table. Mokuba was watching worriedly, but Tazi just looked at her lap. She tried to connect with her yami, but she couldn't even feel her. The wall was blank, and Tazi was locked in her soul room. Finally, she looked up and saw what was happening. Almost silently, she stood up and walked over to the small group.

Both of Ryou and Seto were a little surprised when Tazi walked over with her head bowed. She sat on her knees in front of Yugi and then looked at the smaller teen. "You wouldn't be able to help him," she said softly. "No matter how much you want to." Yugi stopped struggling for a moment and looked at Tazi with teary eyes.

"But I have to! He needs me!" he cried. Tazi bit her lip and her brows knitted together.

"I'm worried about Chaos too," she whispered. "But I know I can do nothing; except, do what she told me to, and that was to stay here and be safe. I know Yami wouldn't want you to be in danger." Ryou looked at her with understanding.

"She's right, Yugi," he said gently. Yugi's lip quavered and a few tears slid down his cheeks.

"I know . . ." he said as he tried to wipe away his tears. "I know she is . . . But Yami . . ."

Seto loosened his grip on Yugi and sat back. "I'm sure where ever he is, he's all right. Chaos is probably with him, and as long as she's able, she won't let anything happen to him," Seto said as he let go of Yugi.

Ryou came over and hugged Yugi comfortingly. Kaiba stood up and patted Tazi on the shoulder as he walked back to the dinning table. For a moment, Tazi just stayed where she was at and thought about what Seto had said. He was right, and she knew it. She just hoped Chaos really was all right.

Chaos dragged Yami around another corner. She collapsed again and cried some more. No one was around, no would help her. Chaos felt tired, cold, and hungry. She hugged Yami close to her body, offering whatever warmth she had to him.

Her sobs were pitiful cries. She was so tired, but she couldn't stop. The yami just sat in the middle of the sidewalk and cried with her motionless friend in her arms. Her arms were sore from carrying his upper body across about two miles. Her chest ached from her crying, and she really couldn't feel her hands.

Her wet hair clung to her soaked sweater and to her face. Hot tears left trails across her frozen cheeks. Chaos still had a couple blocks to go.

It was impossible to believe that there was no one around. Although it was working hours and only half an hour before lunch breaks. She hoped to get to the Game Shop before then. Chaos had probably been going for half an hour already.

The spirit of the Bracelet looked down at Yami's face. He was pure white, even his lips. His golden bands clung to his face and he wasn't even shaking from the cold. If it hadn't been for raspy breaths, he would have been believed to be dead.

Then, there was Bakura who had been left back at the hospital. Chaos had last seen him bleeding from new wounds, and almost dead from being suffocated. Why did this fiend want them dead? She was used to it by now, but they had never encountered something like this. More sobs past her lips.

She gathered her bearings from the most part, and got back up to take Yami to shelter. The thought of him possibly dieing, frightened her. She teased and harassed him most of the time, but he was her friend. Chaos also couldn't bear the thought of facing sweet, little Yugi. What could she say to him? "I'm sorry, I tried my best, but it wasn't good enough."?

Chaos went through one alley, and down four different sets of sidewalks, across one street, and collapsed twice more. Finally, she could see the Game Shop. 'Please be okay,' Chaos thought as she pulled Yami along, his boots scraping against the cement.

When she reached the door, she pushed her back against it and pulled Yami in. The bell above the door ironically jingled cheerfully. As soon as Yami's feet were in and the door closed behind them. Chaos collapsed onto the floor.

"_MR. MUTOU!" _ she screamed hoarsely at the top of her lungs with sobs intertwining. She faintly heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Yami Tazi Chaos Tashanazi," Mr. Mutou began as he entered the room. "You're making enough noise to . . . Oh, no . . ." he breathed as he saw Yami laying motionless in the pools of water. "What on Earth happened?" Chaos couldn't respond, she was sobbing too hard from her weariness. She held Yami close to her, still believing she had to do what she could to keep him warm.

Yugi's grandfather quickly came over and pulled Yami from her arms. "I'll get him upstairs," he said softly. "We have to get him warm." Even though he was older, he had a little easier time dragging Yami up the stairs than she had had dragging him down the sidewalk.

For several minutes, Chaos just sat crumbled on the floor, crying her eyes out. It had been held in for a day or two now. But she couldn't keep it in any longer. She cried for everything that had happened, because she was cold and tired, and that Yami had almost died. Chaos just sat in the pool of water for nearly five minutes.

The tears were never ending. Any other time, someone, most likely Bakura, would have rushed to her and held her, but he couldn't, no one could. She was all alone.

Chaos saw her reflection in the puddle on the floor. She was a mess. Her hair was barely dry, and that made it curl a little. Hot tears slid down her now lukewarm skin. She drew one knee up and pressed her cheek against it and sniffled. Her throat was tight and her chest ached.

A few moments later, Gramps came back down the steps. "How is he?" she asked hoarsely as she looked up and saw the bleary old man. He smiled down at her tiredly.

"He's laying in his bed, he should be fine. I do not believe there are any signs of hypothermia," he said softly as he walked over to her. He put a blanket around her shoulders and helped her stand. She was a bit wobbly, but he was able to lead her to the stairs. "But you . . . You need to get out of those wet clothes. You probably have more of a chance of catching a cold than he does."

"I'll be fine," Chaos sniffled as she almost tripped over one of the steps. "I need . . . Need to get back to the hospital . . ."

"Nonsense!" Gramps exclaimed. "You need to take care of yourself. You brought Yami here, the least I can do is get you dry." He took her up to the bathroom and turned on the hot shower. "I'll dry your clothes for you while you relax."

Chaos looked at the shower longingly, but she bent down and turned off the shower. "If you could just give me a set of dry clothes," she whispered. "I'll be on my way."

Gramps looked at up her with concern. He reached up and wiped away some tears. "I think Yami has some clothes that will fit you. Just leave your wet things in here and I'll get them dry by the time you come back. Now wait here." Chaos sat on the edge of the tub while Gramps went into Yami's room.

A few minutes later, he came back with a pair of jeans and an orange hooded sweatshirt. He handed them to her along with a towel. "Do you want me to drive you to the hospital?" he asked kindly. Chaos shook her head slowly.

"Thank you," she said softly as she took the clothes. Gramps just nodded and went out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Chaos then began to strip the wet clothing from her body.

She rang out her undergarments and put them back on, and rubbed herself down with the towel. She then put on the heavy orange sweatshirt. Then, as she picked up the jeans, she laughed hollowly. 'I didn't know Yami had anything other than leather and school uniform pants,' she thought as she pulled them on.

The spirit of the Bracelet squeezed the water out of her hair, then sort of dried it with the towel. She also had found a dry pair of socks folded between the jeans and sweatshirt, so she pulled them on. After she put her boots back on, she laid her wet clothes over the edge of the tub and did the same with the towel.

When she came out of the bathroom, she looked down the hall where she knew Yami's room was, but then turned the other way and went down the stairs. In the kitchen, Mr. Mutou was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. He looked up as he heard her come down.

"Do you want anything?" he asked as he stood up. Chaos bit her bottom lip.

"No thank you," she answered. "You've done quite enough. I must be going."

Mr. Mutou nodded sadly. "Will you be coming back soon?" Chaos shuffled her feet and looked at the floor.

"I'm not sure," she whispered. "But I don't think I'll be gone too long. I will want to know if Yami's all right."

"He will be," Gramps said. Chaos nodded, then went through the door to the Game Shop, and walked out.

An icy wind met her and she turned away as her now loose hair blew into her face. She stuck her hands in the front pocket of the sweatshirt and began to trudge down the street.

Seto rode in his limo and looked out the window. He had told Yugi and Tazi that he would keep an eye out for either of their yamis as he went to the office. The CEO had been half tempted to go in his own car and purposely drive around to look for either of the two. But he had work that couldn't wait very long. It was like that when you ran a multi-million dollar corporation.

The limo drove along and Kaiba saw someone walking down the sidewalk. At first, she looked like any other pedestrian, but as they drove nearer, he saw that it was Chaos. He told the driver to pull over and Seto opened his car door.

"I've been looking for you," he said in a semi-playful voice. Chaos stopped walking and lifted her eyes from the ground. Seto saw that they were filled with pain and sorrow. "Where are you headed?"

"The hospital," she replied in a whisper. Seto scooted over.

"Get in," he ordered. Chaos looked around for a moment, then climbed into the limo as she was told. The teen told the driver to head to the hospital and he complied.

For a few moments, they drove in silence. Seto then thought back to earlier that afternoon at his home. Seeing that Chaos was alone, he was sure that something had indeed happened to the former Pharaoh.

"Where's Yami?" he asked. Chaos looked away from him. Her shoulders shook a little, and she bit down hard on her lip to keep from crying again. "Well?"

"The man who had stabbed Bakura," she began, while still looking away. "He came back, and we chased him to the park . . . Yami got ahead of me and chased him across the lake. He . . . He shot at Yami and hit the ice, and Yami fell through . . ." A few tears escaped her tightly shut eyes. "I had to break the ice open again, and I found him at the bottom . . . And I had to drag him to the Game Shop because he wouldn't wake up . . ." A sob escaped her lips and she hugged herself tightly.

Kaiba looked over at her with concern. "Chaos?" he said quietly. She suddenly whipped around and looked at him with teary eyes.

"What?!" she asked as she choked.

Seto just pulled her into an embrace and she began to cry again. All he felt he could do was hold her. Chaos buried her face in his chest and her tears soaked a spot on his trench coat.

"That's it," he whispered. "Just cry it out. I'm here for you."

"I don't want him to die," Chaos cried.

"Who? Yami?"

"Him or Bakura!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine," Seto said as he smoothed out her hair. He then noticed something. "Where's your gun?"

For a moment, Chaos stopped crying and looked up at him with wide eyes and thought for a moment. "I think I lost it," she said quietly. "In the park."

"Driver," Seto called. "Go to the park real quick."

For the second time, the driver changed his course and went to the park. As they pulled up to the curb, Seto could see where Chaos had tripped and fallen into the snow. "Wait here," he told her.

The CEO got out of the limo and walked out into the park. He bent down once and picked up a silver object, then kept walking. After a few more minutes, he bent down and picked up another object. Seto then ran back to the limo to get out of the cold. When he got back in the limo, Chaos saw two guns. "Here you are," he said as he held them out to her. "Try not to lose them again."

Chaos took them and put one behind her back in the waist of her jeans, and the other in the front pocket of her sweatshirt. She took a shaky breath. "Why can't I be strong like you?" she asked suddenly. "All I can do is sit here and cry!" A few more tears trickled down her face.

Seto reached up and to wipe away the tears, but Chaos shoved his hand away. "No! Someone is always wiping my tears away for me!" she wiped her sleeve across her eyes. "If I'm going to be strong, I have to be able not to cry!" Kaiba shook his head.

"Crying doesn't make you weak, crying shows that you care, and that you're human," he said softly. "Even I cry sometimes." Chaos looked down at the floor of the car.

"Not in public you don't," she whispered. "I just go out and cry on the street."

"Oh, Chaos . . ." Seto sighed as he hugged her again. "You don't realize your own strength."

They reached the hospital and Chaos opened the door and stuck one foot out. "Thanks for the ride," she said.

"Any time," Kaiba said with a crooked smile. "I'll tell them that you are safe, and so is Yami."

"See ya," Chaos said as she got and closed the car door. The limo drove away and Chaos found herself alone once again. She then walked to the building.

Once inside, she realized how cold she still was. Chaos went to the elevator, and found that it opened much quicker than last time. Slowly, she walked in and closed it behind her, not really wanting anyone to ride up with her. She pressed the button for the fifth floor and closed her eyes as she descended upward.

After what seemed eternity, the elevator chimed and the door slid open. Chaos slinked her way down the hall and finally reached Bakura's door. 'Please let him be all right,' she thought as she put her hand around the knob that was as cold as her hand. After taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open.

Bakura laid on the bed with his eyes closed. The monitors were still beeping at a normal rate, so for the most part, all seemed well. Chaos wasn't actually sure how long she had been gone, but it looked as if all had been taken care of. The window had even been replaced.

The spirit walked over to the bed and looked down at her friend. He looked peaceful enough. Chaos ran her fingers down his arm, down to the needle for the IV. Bakura made a face of distaste. "Your hands are cold," he mumbled. Chaos pulled her hand away.

"Sorry," she whispered. Bakura's eyes flickered open and it took him a moment to focus on Chaos. He then looked around.

"Where's the Pharaoh?" he asked. Chaos took a breath. Bakura looked up at Chaos. "What happened?"

"We had chased him down to the park, and I was still trying to catch up. Yami got caught on the lake and fell through the ice. That fiend cast a spell to refreeze the water. By the time I got to him in the lake, he was unconscious. I got him to the Game Shop, but he was still out cold when I left."

Bakura thought for a moment, then nodded. "I see," was all he said. "Are you all right?"

"For the most part," she said quietly. Bakura studied her face, and saw the dark circles under her eyes.

"Go home, Chaos," he suddenly said. Chaos looked at him with wide eyes.

"What?" she asked incredulously.

"Go home," he repeated. "You need to sleep. You're doing yourself no good staying around here."

"But what if "

"I'll be fine," Bakura interrupted. "You don't look like you will be though. Sure, I lost some blood back there, but I'm on the road to recovery. You still need to make the U-turn." Chaos gave a bittersweet smile.

"That was the dumbest metaphor I've ever heard," she said. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I'm not the most elaborate speaker, but I think I made my point," he said as he folded his arms across his chest. Chaos stuck her tongue out at him. Bakura then became a little more serious. "I mean it, Chaos," he said. "Go home."

"Alright," she said. "I'll go, but I think I'll go check on Yami." Bakura sighed.

"Chaos . . ." he whined. She held up a finger.

"_Then_, I'll go home." Bakura raised an eyebrow.

"You'd better," he said. "The last think I need is you getting sick on me. Ryou was a big enough handful."

"Fine, I see I'm not wanted," Chaos pouted. She turned to leave. "I'll see you later."

"No sooner than tomorrow!" he called. "Sleep, Chaos! You have to sometime!"

Chaos just waved it away and left the room, feeling a little more light hearted than when she had came. She closed the door behind her and heard the soft click. As she walked down the hall, she saw Dr. Hikura walk past her. Chaos grinned slightly as he quickly looked around for Yami.

But as she saw him go into Bakura's room, her heart fell again. If only Yami could have been there. She wondered how he was doing. Was he even conscious? It was best not to think about it, but that was hard.

The spirit of the Bracelet finally made her way out to the parking lot and pulled the car keys out of her pocket. Chaos unlocked the car door, and climbed into the soft seat. For a moment, she just sat in the car and thought. The world around her was going without any problems, but even closer to her, it was a disaster. The blond young woman forced herself to close the car door and put the keys in the ignition.

The CD player came on and the music from the fantasy film of all time filled the car. Chaos laughed to herself. Fantasy, that's what most people would call the Millennium Items and the Shadow Games. It made her wonder if 'Lord of the Rings' was real as well. Chaos shook her head and pulled the car out of the parking lot.

As she drove down the road, she only gave half of her attention to the road. The closer she got to the Game Shop, the more worried she became. Her chest seemed to tighten and her throat became restricted. Chaos wasn't sure if she could stand to see Yami lying deathly cold on his bed.

The honking of a horn brought her back to reality. Chaos looked in the rearview mirror and saw the person behind her, shaking his fist and yelling something. She muttered in Egyptian and put her foot back on the gas. After several minutes, she just pulled over next to the curb.

Too many things were happening. Chaos rested her forehead on the steering wheel and just listened to the music playing. She almost fell asleep, but then there was the clashing of cymbals and she was startled awake. Bakura was right, she needed to sleep. But she couldn't until she knew that Yami was going to be all right. But she was not prepared to see him if he was not. Chaos let out a heavy sigh.

Her lip was getting sore from her teeth furiously pressing down on it. She sat up and looked at the clock. It was two in the afternoon. Another heavy sigh was released. Too many things indeed.

Finally she slammed her fist on the car horn. It wasn't right! Chaos didn't care who this fiend was, he couldn't go around hurting her friends! The girl screamed out of frustration. They knew nothing about him, and he was powerful with Shadow Magic. Just for the record, she screamed again.

Chaos leaned back in the seat and breathed heavily. To her surprise, she actually felt better. She still had that awful dreading about Yami, but all in all, she felt better. Well enough to drive again, that is.

Once she was back on the road, she was able to pay attention. There were no more encounters with angry drivers and she kept everything by the book. But as the Game Shop came up, that dread grew.

Chaos parked at the curb and slowly got out of the car. She knew she had to go in if there was ever any hope of her resting like she had promised Bakura she would. Taking it one step at a time, she advanced toward the shop doors.


	9. Chp9

Whoops. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. It's been a weird couple of days, kinda . . . But anywho . . . To answer Nightmare's question . . . I came up with Chaos when just writing nothing in particular and she developed over time. Then I started chatting online and her character evolved further. I use her constantly in my RPs.

Gramps looked up from the counter he was washing when he heard the door open and that same bell jingle. Chaos walked in and let the door close behind her. She just nodded towards him and silently walked through to the home section. For a moment, Gramps considered saying something, but then shut his mouth and went back to cleaning the counter.

Chaos bit down on her lip again as she walked into the kitchen. She heard the television in the next room, but she couldn't help but feel her heart pounding furiously in her chest. The Egyptian took a deep breath, and walked forward.

When her shoes hit the carpet, they stopped. Before her, Yami stood dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, similar to her. Chaos looked into his eyes with mostly shock and concern. In her mind, she couldn't comprehend that he was really all right. Yami just looked back at her with a similar expression. But his expression was a little more stern.

Chaos took a couple slow steps toward him, then rushed forward and Yami welcomed her with open arms. Chaos wrapped her arms around him, shut her eyes tightly, and buried her face into his shoulder. Yami embraced her and simply closed his eyes. He could hear her steady breathing. He had half expected tears, but he found none. Yami just hugged her a little tighter.

It felt good to feel Yami's presence again. That familiar aura he always had was welcoming to Chaos's senses. She could also sense the Millennium Puzzle, which was pressing into her body as she hugged Yami. His breathing pattern had aligned with hers as they stood there. It was so comforting to be able to feel him again.

Yami could practically feel the relief from Chaos washing over him. As she clung to him, Yami rubbed a hand up and down her back. Chaos then loosened her grip upon him and pulled away.

Chaos saw Yami look into her eyes with gratefulness. "Thank you," he said softly. "I owe you a debt I feel that I cannot repay." She looked away.

"How could I have done anything else?" Chaos asked. Suddenly, exhaustion swept over her. Chaos stopped all movement to steady herself, then looked back at Yami."Shouldn't you be resting?" she asked. He'd nearly drowned a couple hours ago and he was already out of bed. Yami raised an eyebrow at her.

"What about you?" he asked as he noted the dark circles under her eyes. Chaos looked frustrated.

"I'm fine, Pharaoh," she growled. "You're the one that fell in the lake." Yami didn't change his expression.

"Yes, but you were the one that got me out," he said. "And brought me to the Game Shop by foot." Chaos looked at him with confusion. "Yugi's grandfather told me." Chaos bit her lip, then let it slide. She was now fighting to keep her eyes open, and when they were open, they weren't focused. Yami's brows knitted together as he frowned. He took a step forward and put a hand on her shoulder to steer her towards the couch.

"No, Yami," she mumbled. "I'm fine." 'I don't care if I promised Bakura I'd sleep,' she thought. 'We lie to each other all the time.' Yami pushed a little harder.

"You are exhausted," he said as he forced her to sit on the couch. "And you're still cold. Sleep won't kill you." Yami took the blanket he'd wrapped up in while he had watched TV and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"But we need to . . ."

"No," he said sternly. "You need to sleep." Chaos barely fought him as he forced her to lay down on her side. She muttered a little in Egyptian, then her eyelids sank and closed.

Yami stepped back and looked at his now sleeping friend. With a sigh, he picked up the remote control off the coffee table and turned off the television. Chaos could be so stubborn sometimes. As well as Bakura, and well . . . Himself.

The former Pharaoh walked into the kitchen and his socked feet barely made any noise. Mr. Mutou walked in and saw Yami raiding the fridge. "How is she? She looked half dead when she walked in." Yami looked over the top of the refrigerator door.

"She's asleep on the couch," he said as he rested his arms across the top of the door and rested his chin on top of them. "After I forced her to." Gramps shook his head.

"I tried to get her to rest when she first came," he said as he refilled his coffee mud. "She was a mess you know."

Yami nodded. "That's what you said." Gramps had only briefly mentioned how Chaos had brought him into the Game Shop while he was unconscious, but he had mentioned that much. Together, they had come to the assumption that she had dragged him the whole way.

"And she was making enough noise to wake the dead," Gramps continued as he sipped his coffee. "She was wailing as if you were already dead. Poor girl, I know it must be stressful for her, and you as well. I'm worried myself, but at least I know that Yugi is safe." Yami had begun to go through the fridge's contents again, but then came back up and looked over at the elderly man with confusion.

"Wait," he suddenly said. "She was crying?" Gramps turned around from the doorway.

"Mm-hm," he said quietly. Then, he walked back into the Game Shop.

Yami looked back towards the living room. He grabbed a can of soda and walked back into the living room. Chaos was now sleeping peacefully on the couch. She had the covers pulled underneath her chin and her hands clutched the corner of the blanket. He looked at her with confusion and disbelief.

"You cried for me?" he asked softly. Chaos just stirred slightly and almost rolled off the couch. Yami jumped forward with stealth and prevented her from falling. He then sat back on the coffee table. "Why?" For several moments, he just watched her and tried to answer his own question. Then, he gave up and went upstairs to his room.

Yugi sat on the bottom step and stared at doors. His knees were drawn up and he had his arms wrapped around them with his chin resting on top. His eyes never left the doors.

"I'm worried about him," Ryou whispered to Tazi. They stood in the door between the dinning room and the kitchen. From there, they could see Yugi and they were out of his hearing range if they whispered.

Tazi bit her lip and hugged herself. "He's been there for the past several hours," she said softly. "I hope Seto gets home soon." Ever since Seto left with the promise of being on the look out for Yami and Chaos, Yugi had kept his eyes on the door, waiting for his return.

Mokuba was in the living room, playing video games. He had made an attempt to get Yugi to play with him, but had failed horribly. Feeling that he could no longer help, he went off to the let the others figure it out.

Tazi looked at the clock. The others would be getting out of school soon. She wondered how they were doing. At least they were all right, as far as she knew. Next to her, Ryou sighed.

"I wonder how Bakura is doing," he said quietly as he looked down at the floor. "He always pretends that he's fine. He always hides what's bothering him. I think it is because he doesn't want me to spend my time worrying over him. Most of the time, he doesn't like to be fussed over. But in the long run, he likes the attention when he can get it." Ryou let out another sigh.

"I know, Ryou," Tazi said in an understanding tone. "I know." She leaned her shoulder against the door frame and closed her eyes. /Chaos?/ she pleaded. /Please answer me!/ Tazi had known that her yami wouldn't answer her, but she had been desperate enough to try it. 'You'd better be all right,' she thought.

Yugi closed his eyes for a moment. 'Why won't you come back, Kaiba?!' he thought as he opened his eyes again. He was desperate to hear about Yami. Ever since he'd felt that slight moment of pain and panic, Yugi had been jumpy.

Not just anything could get Yami into panicking. Something must have been seriously wrong, or something must have caught him off guard. Or maybe . . . No, that couldn't be.

For a moment, he considered the fact that maybe Chaos had snuck up on him and whacked him upside the head and it had just startled him. It would have been wonderful if that was it. But something in Yugi's mind told him that things couldn't be that simple.

The tri-color haired teen thought back to what Kaiba had said about Chaos looking out for Yami. Yugi hoped he was right about that. What if Chaos had gotten hurt too? Tazi hadn't said anything, but that didn't mean something had happened. Or what if Chaos and Yami had gotten split up? Maybe Chaos didn't know something was wrong with Yami.

The horrible thoughts ran through the boy's head and threatened to drive him to tears. Yugi buried his face behind his knees and arms. "I want my yami . . ." he cried softly.

Yami sat at his desk and flipped through his dueling deck. It was a little after four and Chaos was still sound asleep on the couch, and the Pharaoh hoped that it stayed that way. She had been so tired when he'd seen her come in, Yami hoped to see her sleep most of the way through the night.

Yugi's grandfather had gone to run an errand and had left Yami to be by himself for the time he was gone. The home was practically a tomb. The only thing that Yami could hear was the sound of the cards being placed on the desk and his own breathing.

"Yo, Yug'! Yugi!" a voice shouted from downstairs.

"Yugi?" another, more feminine voice called.

"Where are you, buddy?" a third voice yelled.

Yami recognized the voices and set his deck down quickly and ran downstairs. He skidded into the kitchen with socked feet as Joey walked in and shouted again. "He's not here," Yami said as the other two walked in. "And I wish you wouldn't yell."

"Where is he?" Joey asked. "The last time we saw him or Tazi was after school when they got picked up by Kaiba. We thought maybe he was sick or something'." Yami winced a little and Joey's loudness.

"Is Yugi sick?" Tea asked with concern. Yami shook his head.

"As far as I know," he began. "Yugi is well, but I wouldn't know myself because I haven't seen him for two days."

"What do you mean you haven't seen him?!" Joey demanded. "Where's our little buddy?!" Yami growled in frustration.

"Would you shut up?!" Yami hissed. He looked back to the living room. Did that boy have any respect for those who were resting?

"I just wanna know what's goin' on!" Joey shouted. Tristan smacked him upside the back of the head.

"He just told you to be quiet, man!" Tristan said in a normal volume of vocals. "If you'd shut up he might answer some of your questions!" Yami nodded to Tristan in thanks.

"Yugi's at Kaiba's for the time being," Yami explained. "And so are Ryou and Tazi. Someone is after Chaos, Bakura and me. It's only a safety precaution we felt we had to take. Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

Joey nodded dumbly. It had come short and quick, and he had been barely able to catch it all. Tea thought to herself for a moment, then looked up.

"Would it be all right if we went to see them?" she asked. Yami shook his head.

"No one must get the slightest hint that they are there," he said sternly.

"How's everything holding together?" Tristan asked as he stuck his hands in his pocket. "I mean with Bakura and everything."

"Bakura's recovering," Yami said. "I'm afraid I almost met with a tragic event earlier today though." Tea gasped.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Does it really matter?" Yami asked. "I'm here aren't I?"

"Of course it does!" Tea cried. "We don't want anything to happen to you guys!" Yami sighed.

"If you must know, I almost drowned," he said reluctantly. "I fell unconscious in the lake at the park. Luckily, Chaos was there to save me." Tristan looked around.

"Speaking of Chaos," he piped in. "Where is she?"

"She's sleeping on the couch," Yami said. "At least she _was_ sleeping. But after Joey's havoc she might have woken up." Joey blushed furiously with embarrassment.

"Heh, sorry, man," he said apologetically as he rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't know." Yami raised a brow in amusement.

"Well, I need to be going," Tea said as she began to walk back into the Game Shop.

"So do we," Tristan said as he grabbed Joey's arm. "We'll see ya later, Yami."

"Goodbye," Yami said as the trio left. The Egyptian then sighed. He turned and walked into the living room to see if Chaos had awoken from Joey's yelling.

Chaos was still curled up on the couch, now sleeping more peacefully than before. Yami walked over and pulled the covers back up from where she'd kicked them off. The other Egyptian turned her back to Yami. The former Pharaoh shook his head and made his way back to his room.

Chaos rolled onto her back, and slowly became aware of her surroundings. She stretched and yawn. She felt something poking her in the back. When the blond reached back to her waist, she found the gun she'd placed there. Chaos carelessly put it on the coffee table, along with the one that had been in her sweatshirt pocket.

After sprawling back out, a wonderful aroma from the kitchen reached her nose. When her stomach growled in annoyance of not being fed, Chaos got up and shuffled into the kitchen. The spirit of the Bracelet had only been half awake when she stepped into the kitchen, but when she saw who was hovering over the stove, she was wide awake.

"Pharaoh?!" she cried incredulously. Yami turned around with a large stirring spoon in his hand. He saw Chaos hugging the doorframe for balance, laughing insanely.

"Well, it seems that you're feeling better," Yami muttered as he folded his arms across his chest.

Chaos coughed several times and sank to the floor as she laughed even harder. Yami just frowned as she held her sides and laughed hysterically. Then she began to cough again with a painful sound. Yami's frown became one of concern and he walked over to her and slammed down on her back a few times. "Breath, Chaos," he commanded.

After a few moments, Chaos stopped coughing, but started laughing again. Yami let out a cry of frustration. "I give up!" he yelled as he chucked the spoon across the kitchen. "You are completely hopeless!" Chaos only laughed harder and she sprawled out on the floor and laughed till she was in tears.

"Don't throw things in the kitchen, Yami!" Mr. Mutou called from where he was counting money in the Game Shop. This only increased Chaos's hysterics. Yami sighed.

"Sorry, grandfather," he called. Yami walked across the kitchen and picked up the spoon and placed it on the counter. He then walked over to the stove and turned off the burner. When he turned back around, Chaos was still laughing. "Why is me cooking so funny?!" he demanded.

Chaos struggled to stop laughing as she sat up. Finally, she was down to merely giggling. "I don't know," she confessed. "Just, it's so . . . Weird!" She began to laugh again.

"Yeah? Well you know what? I'm weird! Okay?!" Yami cried. Chaos laughed some more. Yami let out another stressful sigh. He figured she could use a good laugh anyway, the day had been fairly rough.

"So, watcha makin' anyway?" Chaos asked from where she was still sitting on the floor.

"Vegetable soup," Yami asked as he went back to the soup to stir it. "I think it's done." He turned and glared at her. "But who knows . . . Maybe I poisoned it." Chaos giggled.

"I'm sorry," she said as she stood up. "It actually smells really good." Chaos walked over and looked over Yami's shoulder. "It looks good too. It's a shame I can't cook like that. I'm a disaster in the kitchen."

"Well then," Yami said as he opened the cabinet above him to get out some bowls. "Get out before you turn my soup into paint on the walls."

"You're so mean!" Chaos cried as she stepped back. Yami didn't turn around. Chaos stuck her tongue out at him and went back into the living room.

"Get back here, Chaos," Yami called. "We're getting ready to eat now." He heard a sigh from the living room.

"You just told me to leave!" Chaos shouted.

"I was kidding!" Yami exclaimed.

"You didn't sound like it!" she accused.

"Does it matter?!" Yami asked with exasperation.

"Yes!"

"Fine then! Stay in there and STARVE!" Yami screamed. Chaos broke into a fit of giggles in the next room and Yami let out an exasperated sigh.

Gramps walked in and raised an eyebrow when he saw that Yami was red in the face. "What's going on in here?" he asked in a fatherly tone. Yami glared towards the living room door.

"Well, I was trying to do something nice for a change," Yami began, his voice slowly growing louder with each word. "But _someone_ had to go and be a baka and ruin it!" he shouted towards the living room. Chaos giggled some more, then once again laughed hysterically.

Yami growled in frustration and folded his arms across his chest. Even Gramps laughed a little. "It looks as if all the events of today are finally getting to her," he said quietly. Yami fumed silently. "Well, at least she's enjoying herself."

"Yeah," Yami muttered. "On my behalf!" Chaos's laughs went up a notch and Yami braced his arms at his sides and clenched his fists. Then, there was a small crash in the living room.

"Oi!" Yami shouted as he went into the living room. "What are you doing?!" When he entered the living room, he saw Chaos's legs hanging over the coffee table. He walked closer and saw the rest of her in between the couch and the table. She was still giggling slightly. "Serves you right," he hissed. Yami then turned around and began to walk out.

Chaos tried to pull herself up, but slipped and fell back. "I can't get up," she complained while laughing. Yami didn't turn around. "Help me up, baka no Pharaoh."

Yami marched right back and leaned over her. He held his hands out towards her neck, as if to strangle her, but he somehow managed to restrain himself. Chaos looked at his hands until she was almost cross-eyed. She laughed a little as his hands trembled furiously as they tried to make their way around her neck.

"I should," he said, mostly talking to himself. "I really should. But . . ." Yami took his hands away. "Then, Yugi would probably never trust me again." The former Pharaoh held out his hand and Chaos allowed herself to be pulled up.

Chaos swallowed the last of her giggles and smiled sweetly at Yami. "Thank you," she said in a sing song voice. Yami's narrowed eyes bore into her. Chaos pursed her lips, trying not to laugh again. "Your gun's on the floor," she said as she pointed downward, changing the subject.

Yami looked down and saw that Chaos was speaking the truth. "Where was it?" he asked as he knelt down to pick it up, along with Chaos's gun that had fallen on the floor during her antics.

"Kaiba found them," she said softly as she became more sober. Yami set them on the coffee table, then stood up.

"Lets eat," he said as he turned and walked out of the room. Chaos was not far behind him.

Gramps was already dishing out soup for all three of them. Yami got drinks for them and Chaos got out the spoons. Once they had everything set on the table, they sat down to eat. Both the yamis suddenly grew quiet and went into their own thoughts. Gramps looked from one to the other, but decided that whatever they were thinking of, it was best to leave them to it.

After several minutes went by, Yami looked across the table, over to Chaos. "So . . . Are you planning on stay here tonight or . . ." Chaos looked up with her spoon in her mouth. She then took out the spoon and set it aside.

"No, I'm going home," she said quickly before Gramps could butt in. "And I think you should come with me, Yami." The other two looked at her curiously. "I don't want you to get hurt because of us, Mr. Mutou," Chaos told the elderly man. "You've been more than gracious to us and I feel this is the best way we can return the favor." Yami nodded.

"I agree," he said. Yami met Chaos's gaze and she nodded once. Then, everyone slipped back into silence.


	10. Chp10

Hey, everybody, thanks for all the reviews. Yay. Yeah, I like my comedy, especially when it's bickering between Yami and Chaos, there will be more of that, I assure you.

Yugi heard the sound of the door turn, then click and his head shot up. Seto opened the door and was nearly tackled by Yugi. "Did you find them?!" he asked desperately. At the sound of Yugi's voice, everyone else in the house rushed towards the door.

Everyone had been on pins and needles for quite some time. Kaiba looked down and saw that Yugi's eyes were red and they were wide with anticipation. 'Maybe I should have come home sooner,' he thought as his eyes swept across everyone else. Without thought, he closed the door behind him.

"I saw Chaos," he said as he sidestepped and put down his briefcase. "And . . ."

"Just Chaos?" Yugi's voice squeaked. Seto swallowed. He debated on whether or not to tell Yugi everything.

"Yes," he finally answered. "I asked her where Yami was, and she said he was back at the Game Shop sleeping. You know, for being the ruler of Egypt, your yami's pretty lazy." All the fear from Yugi's eyes slipped away. He then sank to the floor and began to sob with relief.

Behind him, there were several sighs of relief. Seto smiled and hung up his coat. When he turned back around, he saw Tazi kneeling down next to Yugi. She hugged him and wiped away his tears. Mokuba suddenly cheered.

"This calls for chocolate ice cream!" he yelled as he ran to the kitchen. Tazi, Ryou, and even Kaiba laughed.

Yugi looked up at Seto with teary eyes. "I'm so glad he's okay," he cried with a smile. More tears streamed down his cheeks and Tazi reached over and wiped them away. Tazi looked up at him and smiled big.

"Come help me, Seto!" Mokuba called from the kitchen. "I can't reach it!" Seto rolled his eyes and stepped away from Yugi and Tazi.

"I'm coming!" Seto called as he heard a crash in the kitchen. "Just hold on a second!" He quickly walked into towards the kitchen.

Ryou stood next to Tazi and Yugi. He thought back through the last few moments. Something just didn't click for him. Ryou also went to help in the kitchen. As he walked in, he saw Mokuba telling his brother what kinds of ice cream to get out of the freezer and Seto telling him to be quiet.

When Mokuba heard him come in, he turned around and put his hands on his hips. "Don't we need Rock Road, Ryou?!" he asked the older boy. Seto looked over at Ryou skeptically. His face basically told him, 'This whole party business is just another excuse for him to have chocolate and get hyper, and that's why this fridge is so tall'.

Ryou smiled sweetly. "What would a party be without it?" he asked. Mokuba turned to his older brother.

"See?!"

"Okay, okay," Seto sighed as he handed the container of ice cream to Mokuba. He then began to mutter about sugar highs and British people. Mokuba took the carton and set it next to the other two on the counter. "I think that's enough," Seto said as he closed the freezer door.

The younger Kaiba took the three cartons and placed them farther away and began to get out bowls and spoons. Seto walked over to Ryou and gave him a fairly meaningless glare.

"You're a lot of help," he said. Ryou just grinned.

"I don't really think it would have mattered," he spoke honestly. "I just ended it sooner." Seto sighed.

"You're probably right," he admitted. He watched Mokuba run around the large kitchen. "It's just gonna be another long night," he sighed. "But I don't want him out of the mansion until this gets settled." Ryou looked up at Kaiba.

"Yami really wasn't _just_ sleeping was he," he spoke quietly. "Something really did happen."

Kaiba immediately steered him out of the kitchen and into a room beyond it. He looked around and made sure that Tazi and Yugi were no where in sight. Seto then looked down at the other teen.

"Yes, something else did happen," Kaiba spoke quietly. "But Yami really is all right, I just couldn't tell Yugi what all happened." Ryou nodded, understanding what the other was telling him.

"He's been shaken up all day, it was probably for the best. But what did happen?" Seto looked around once more and listened intently for a moment, then told Ryou the whole story. When he was finished, Ryou agreed with him. "He's not ready for it," he simply said. The white haired boy thought for a moment. "But I wish I could have comforted Chaos."

"I tried," Seto admitted. "And I think I did a little bit, but I don't think I was the one she wanted to be comforted by." Ryou looked away.

"She's been helping me a lot lately," Ryou said softly. "And I've been wanting to help her somehow, but I never seem to know how." Seto bit his lip.

"Somehow, I think you just being safe helps her out," he replied. "It gives her one less thing to worry about." Ryou suddenly smiled.

"I think your right! Thank you," he said as he walked out. "Want some help, Mokuba?"

Kaiba stood alone in the room for a moment. 'You missed your calling, Seto Kaiba,' he thought to himself. 'You could have aced psychology.'

Yami sat in the passenger seat of the red Toyota as they drove down the now lighted streets of Domino. He had a small bag packed in the back seat and he hoped he wouldn't need it longer than two days. The former Pharaoh leaned back and watched the lights go by.

Next to him, he heard Chaos sniffle a little bit. She had been ever since she'd woken up. Yami began to wonder if she was catching a cold. He had asked her, but she wouldn't admit to anything.

For the past several minutes, they had pretty much ridden in silence. That was suddenly broken by Chaos letting out a small cough. Yami looked over toward her and saw that her eyes were watering. He opened his mouth to say something when Chaos cut him off.

"Shut up," she said in a nasal voice.

"I didn't say anything," Yami said innocently.

"You were thinking it," Chaos accused.

Yami winced, she was right. He hated it when she did that, and she did it a lot. "Are you sure one of the Bracelet's powers isn't ESP?"

"No," Chaos answered in a monotone voice. "It's women's intuition." Yami looked back out the window. A few cars went the other direction, but he recognized none of them.

"When we get there," Chaos began, shaking Yami out of his trance. "You can stay in Tazi's dad's room. You know where I'm talking about don't you?"

"Yes," Yami answered, not looking toward her. "I remember where it is."

Once again, the car was filled with silence. Conversations were a hard thing to start, or so it seemed. They finally reached the Tashanazi home and Chaos pulled into the garage and parked next to Bakura's Mustang.

Yami reached into the back seat and pulled out his bag and got out of the car. Chaos walked over to the door that went into the kitchen and pulled it open. As she walked in, she pulled off her boots and left them by the door. Yami followed in the same suit.

As Chaos walked by the kitchen table, she grabbed the note Tazi had left several days before and crinkled it up. It was thrown into the trash as Chaos passed it. She then went straight to the stairs.

"If you need anything," Chaos called as she went up to the stairs. "Help yourself. I'm going to bed." She then disappeared from Yami's sight.

The former Pharaoh just stood in the kitchen for a moment, trying to figure out what to do first. He felt slightly concerned. Chaos was usually the type to stay up until at least eleven. Yami had looked at the clock and had seen that it was only nine.

Finally, he shouldered his bag and went up the stairs, turning off lights as he went, to where he would spend the night. As he made his way onto the second story, he looked down one way and saw that Chaos's door was closed and that the light was off. Yami frowned, then went down the other way of the hall.

As he entered the room, he looked around. Yami had briefly been in the room before, but had never actually examined it. Now was as good as any.

The floor was covered with soft beige carpet and the walls were painted a similar color. A king size bed sat with its back to the wall in the middle of the room. It had rusty beige and yellow comforter and sheets, along with pillow cases. They looked fairly new, which didn't surprise him, considering that Mr. Tashanazi was never home.

There was one window at the farthest end of the room from the door, which was to the right. Several pictures were hung up on the wall and to the left there was a mahogany wood dresser with a mirror posted on top.

Yami walked over to the bed and sat his bag on top. He unzipped it and pulled out his night clothes. After dressing, he pulled back the sheets and climbed into the bed. It was soft and comfortable. The yami snuggled into the sheets and closed his eyes.

Bakura laid in his hospital bed wide awake. The doctor had given him something that was suppose to make him sleep, but it hadn't started to effect him. The Tomb Robber was more concerned about the other two.

Chaos's face was still etched in her mind. She looked so worn, so battered. Her eyes were red from crying. Bakura knew that she had probably not wanted him to know, but being her best friend, he had to notice. Her blue orbs had been filled with despair and worry.

'I wonder how Yami's doing,' he thought absent mindedly as he looked out the window. The moon was now with in sight from his window and it shone brightly. It was nearly full and would be in a few days. Across the sky, Bakura could see clouds slowly moving to cover it.

Without much thought, the thief ran his fingers across the front of the Millennium Ring. 'Curse you, Pharaoh,' he thought. It was the Ring that had him in this mess, and Yami was the one who had sealed him in it. So basically, it was all his fault.

Bakura found it strange though, he didn't remember being sealed in the Ring. He didn't even really remember any encounters with Yami. Well, he vaguely remembered being pulled into the throne room by guards, but that was about it. He also remembered robbing tombs, but they were all spotted and particles. There were so many gaps. If he ever found out what they were, they could possibly change his whole look upon things.

But it was unlikely that he ever would find out what they were. Yami had pretty much sentenced them to eternity in their Items. Someday, Ryou would leave him and he would be alone, probably sealed into the Ring once again. It pained the Egyptian to think about Ryou leaving him. The boy was so close to him now. When Ryou left this world, Bakura wished he could go with him.

Bakura smirked, at least Yami was strapped in for the ride as well. It was rather sadistic of him. He knew that Yami would take it just as hard when Yugi departed. The Pharaoh had been with his light longer and cherished him deeply. The thief sighed, there was no way he could ever really win, even against himself.

The alarm clock on the nightstand blared the numbers 10:00. Bakura stared at the green numbers. He could feel the medication starting to take its effect. He closed his eyes slowly, then opened them again.

'You'd better be sleeping, Chaos,' he thought as he turned onto his side. 'You promised.'

Yami bolted upright in the bed and gasped for breath. Nightmares had plagued his sleep. He dreamt that the others were suffering, and he could do nothing about it. It was the work of who ever their enemy was no doubt. The Pharaoh wiped the sweat from his face.

For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was when he looked about the room. He had expected to find himself in the room that he shared with Yugi. After several moments, memories of coming with Chaos came back to him and he remembered everything.

The spirit thought for a moment. Something felt strange, not wrong, but strange. He thought back to when Chaos had gone to bed early and how she had been coughing.

'I'd better check on her,' he thought as he pulled the covers back and slid out of bed. Yami then walked out of the room in his socked feet.

Chaos slowly drifted into a hazy awareness. Her whole body felt heavy and weighed down. Her mind seemed slow and her sight was fuzzy. The Egyptian also felt something cool against her forehead.

As her eyes got used to the darkness again, she saw a figure leaning over her. Chaos squinted a little. "Pharaoh?" Her voice cracked as she discovered that her throat was dry and her lips felt parched.

When she tried to sit up, she discovered that she had been clutching a pillow. Chaos felt her mind become hazy again as she sat up. She also felt very confused, and yet too tired to care.

Yami removed his hand from her forehead. "I was worried about you," he said quietly as he held out a glass of water. Chaos reached for it and her hand fumbled to grasp it. After taking it with both hands, she drank a little. She then handed the glass back to him. "Is that all?" he asked in surprise. Chaos nodded and laid back down.

"Just . . . Just let me sleep," she mumbled. Yami looked down at her worriedly.

"You're running a pretty high fever," he said as she turned her back to him. He could hear her labored breathing in the dark. Then, there were several painful sounding coughs.

"Go back to sleep, Pharaoh," Chaos rasped as she pulled the covers up on herself and curled up into a ball. Yami chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Are you sure?" When he didn't receive a response, he took it as a yes. Yami walked over to the desk and set the glass there. "I'm leaving the glass on the desk. Okay?" He then walked out and gently closed the door behind him.

Before he made his way back down the hall, he heard more coughing. Yami winced at them. He then walked down the hall back to his room for the night.

It pained Yami to see Chaos like that. He knew why she was like that too. It was because she had gone after him when he'd fallen in the lake. While he was unconscious and in the Game Shop, dry and warm, Chaos had gone back out with only a change of clothes. This was his fault, and it made him feel awful. She had never looked so weak before this.

The inhabitant of the Millennium Puzzle crawled back into his bed and pulled the blankets around him tightly. "I'm sorry . . ." he whispered into the darkness. "It's my fault. If I hadn't been so persistent . . . I'm so sorry . . . ."

When Bakura woke up that morning, he was met by the sun shinning brightly through his window. The snow covering the rooftops and the windowsill only increased the glare. Bakura threw his arm over his eyes to shield them from the bright light.

"You know, Bakura," a voice came from the other side of the room. "You could just ask someone to shut the curtains."

"Then why don't you, Pharaoh?" Bakura snapped. He heard quiet footsteps walk across the room and heard the sound of curtains whooshing closed.

"That better?" Yami asked as he turned around. Bakura removed his arm from his eyes.

"If you could just hand over the Puzzle, then everything would be just peachy," Bakura declared sarcastically. Yami gave him a bored look.

"Since you're being your power hungry self, I'll assume that our perpetrator hasn't made another appearance here," the tri-color haired young man said as he stood next to the hospital bed. Bakura rolled his eyes at the other.

"Nope, sorry, he was in here two minutes ago. Ya just missed him," Bakura sarcastically spat.

Yami growled something under his breath for a couple moments, ignoring the fact that Bakura was curiously looking around the room.

Suddenly, something struck Bakura. "Where's Chaos?" he demanded. Yami didn't hear him. The thief grabbed Yami's coat and yanked on it forcefully. Yami was slightly thrown off balance, he turned and glared at the Tomb Robber. With every passing second, panic spread through Bakura. "Where's Chaos?!" he cried.

"She's at home," Yami answered. "Sleeping. She wasn't feeling too well last night, so I thought I'd let her sleep." The spirit could visibly see the other relax. Bakura sank into his bedding and shut his eyes.

"You scared the crap out me for a second there," Bakura whispered.

"Gomen," Yami said softly. "I didn't mean to. I'm just a little out of it."

(Flashback)

Yami walked into the bedroom. Chaos was sprawled out on her bed and her covers were all kicked away. In the dim light, he could see that her cheeks were still slightly flushed. From her breathing, Yami guessed that her nose was still stuffy as well.

The former Pharaoh walked over to her bedside and laid a hand over forehead. She was still hot. Yami sighed. He pulled the covers back onto his sick friend and turned on the fan that sat next to the bed. As soon as he turned back to the bed, Chaos had thrown the covers back. He sighed even harder.

"Chaos . . ." he moaned. "Don't do that . . ." He roughly pulled the covers back up and tucked her tightly. "Now I'm going to go visit Bakura, I'll be back in a little while. You just sleep."

Yami turned around and began to walk out of the room. Suddenly, he heard several coughs. He turned back around quickly to see if Chaos was awake. She turned away from him and settled back into her sleep. Yami bit his lip, then went out and gently closed the door behind him.

On his way out, the spirit left a note on the kitchen table, saying where he was going and that he was borrowing the car. He didn't dare borrow Bakura's, the spirit of the Ring would not stop until he totally destroyed his existence.

(End of Flashback)

"Pharaoh?" Bakura asked as he yanked on his sleeve. "Pharaoh?!" Yami snapped back into reality and looked down at the other Egyptian. "What is with you? It's like you're trying to do a Shadow Game with your hikari while trying to hang out here." Yami laughed softly. Bakura looked at him strangely. "Are you sick?"

Yami shook his head. "No, I'm fine," he said. "I'm just kind of tired." Bakura smirked.

"Now who looks like they've been run over by a truck," he said tauntingly. Yami sighed and pulled over the chair by the window and sank into it.

"I guess I'm just worrying over Chaos," Yami said as he rubbed his eyes. Bakura tensed up again.

"So something is wrong?!" he asked as he propped himself up on his elbows. Yami looked up from his hands and saw a familiar panic.

"I didn't mean it that way," he said in a reassuring voice. "I just think she's coming down with a little sickness. But . . . I know it's my fault, and its really weighing down on me." Bakura raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you say that?"

Yami chewed on the inside of his cheek. "If I hadn't been so stupid when chasing that man, Chaos wouldn't of had to go after me, and then she was so stubborn . . . She wouldn't stay at the Game Shop and sleep. She's now running a fever, and her coughs are so evil sounding. I . . . I can't help but take blame . . ."

Bakura thought for a couple moments. Chaos was sick, and that worried him. But this wasn't Yami's fault. He had to say something, even if the Pharaoh did annoy him and got in his way.

"You know, it's not your fault," Bakura said. "She "

"Don't start, Tomb Robber," Yami interrupted.

"Let me finish!" Bakura snapped. "I was saying . . . She could've left you there you know." He finished his statement with the suggestion of sarcasm dripping from his words. "There was no reason whatsoever that she could have not left you there."

"You're not making sense," Yami muttered.

"I'm making all the sense in the world!" Bakura exclaimed. "You're just too dumb to understand. I'm saying that it's not your fault, no matter how much you think it is, so get it through your thick, high and mighty skull. She _chose_ to rescue you!"

'And she chose to cry for me,' Yami thought.

"Why? I'm not really sure," Bakura said in a more serious tone. "But if she cares that much about you, then I guess I owe you a little more respect." Yami looked up from his hands again with surprise. Bakura's eyes were as serious as they had ever been.

"Look out for her, Pharaoh," he said quietly. "Or so help you . . . The first thing I'll do when I get out of this baka hospital . . . ."

"I understand," Yami muttered. He was rather used to threats from Bakura by now. Somehow, he knew he should be taking this one more serious than the others, but couldn't help it.


	11. chp11

Oy, sorry about the no update. Holidays are such a ruckus. Anywhooo . . . coming into the final stretch of this story here. There are . . . two . . . three chapters left? Don't remember at the moment.

As Yami walked into the garage, he saw Chaos sitting on the floor, next to Bakura's Mustang. He had parked outside and had come in through the front door. Yami had looked all over the house for Chaos, and had come to the conclusion that she was here.

When she heard his footsteps, she looked up. The young woman's eyes had dark circles under them. Her face was a little pale and her hair was a mess. Yami could see the distress in her eyes.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked as he folded his arms across his chest. She should have been in bed, or laying on the couch. Chaos looked back behind her at the car.

"I was seeing how hard it would be to attach a cloth top," she said hoarsely. "Bakura's been meaning to get it done." Yami thought for a moment.

"You should be in the house," he said as he walked forward.

"Why did you go by yourself?" Chaos asked as she looked at the cement floor. "You knew that I wanted to go." Yami bent over to pulled her up.

"Why didn't you come yourself?" he asked as he began to bring her to her feet. Chaos swayed a little and laid a hand on his shoulder to steady herself.

"Because sometimes I can't see clearly," she said softly. Yami began to steer her toward the house.

"You're sick," he stated. "That's why I left you here. You need your rest. I was afraid of this. Now come on." As they began to go up the stairs and through the doorway, Chaos gripped the frame until her knuckles turned white.

"No," she said.

Behind her, Yami stopped and looked at her with confusion. "No?"

"I want to see Bakura," she whispered. "I want to know that he's okay."

"He's fine," Yami said as he tried to push her forward. "But you're not. You can see him when you're feeling better."

"I feel fine!" she said as she turned to glare at him. Yami frowned as he saw the lack of clarity in her eyes.

A wave of dizziness overcame Chaos and she lost balance. Yami rushed forward to the top step and steadied her. The spirit shut her eyes tightly and tried to regain her focus. When she opened her eyes, she still couldn't see clearly. She once again gripped the door frame, but this time for support.

"Are you all right?" Yami asked softly. Chaos nodded in an unconvincing manner. Yami put his hand over her forehead and found that she was still burning up. "Come on," he said with a sigh. "Inside." This time, Chaos allowed him to lead her up the stairs and to her bed.

The spirit of the Bracelet sat on the bed and rested her head in her hands. "I feel like crap," she said in a hoarse voice. Yami tried to stifle back laughter. Finally, he was able to open his mouth without the fear of laughing out loud.

"Do you need anything?" he asked. Chaos didn't look up.

"You out of here," she said in aggravated voice. Chaos knew she had made herself look like an idiot, she didn't want Yami around to remind her.

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything," he said as he closed the door behind him.

"Fine," Chaos said in the darkness of her room. She allowed herself to fall back onto her bed and she pulled her legs up as well. She was so tired, and she hated it. Chaos laid her head on her pillow and felt herself fall into a deep slumber.

As Ryou woke, he realized just how late they had stayed up last night. For the past couple of hours, he had been waking up, then falling back asleep. Now, he finally decided, would be a good time to get up.

The white haired boy pulled himself out of bed and walked over to the mirror. His hair was more out of control than usual and he had dark circles under his eyes. With a look at the clock, he saw that it was ten-thirty.

After Mokuba had decided that they needed ice cream, he strongly believed that they needed to watch a movie. So they had watched a movie, eaten ice cream, and played Monopoly until two in the morning. Seto most of all, had been ecstatic when it was time to go to bed.

Ryou walked down the hall and found that the other two hikaris were still asleep. He decided that he would let them sleep. The boy then went downstairs for some breakfast.

When he entered the kitchen, he saw a rather frazzled Seto Kaiba sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. The teen CEO was still in his pajamas, which were dark blue. He was also wearing a robe that was the same color. His brown hair was slightly sticking up and he also had dark circles under his eyes. The paper was upside down and his coffee cup was filled to the brim. It was a rather entertaining sight.

The owner of the Millennium Ring held a hand over his mouth and ducked out of the room before he let out a few quiet laughs. If only he had a camera! He knew three yamis in particular who would have loved to see the prodigy in the next room looking like he was.

Ryou was finally able to compose himself and walk into the kitchen without laughing. He walked past Kaiba and went to the fridge to get some milk for a bowl of cereal. For the most part, the CEO didn't really pay attention to the other.

"It's best if you read the paper right side up, Kaiba," Ryou commented as he poured milk into his cereal.

"Don't tell me how to read the newspaper," Kaiba snapped groggily. "When I look at it this way the news isn't so depressing." He gingerly lifted his mug and sipped some of his coffee. "I swear, if Mokuba ever talks me into doing that again . . ."

"I thought it was fun," the white haired boy said as he came to sit across from the other.

"You would," Seto mumbled. "You don't have a company to run." Ryou got back up when he realized that he had forgotten a spoon.

"That could be it," he agreed. "But I guess I like to make the best of the situation." He sat back down at the table and the only real sound that was heard was the chair scrapping across the floor.

"How do you think they're doing?" Kaiba asked suddenly. Ryou looked over at him in a confused manner.

"Who?"

"The yamis," Seto said as he set down his paper. "Chaos was pretty out of it last time I saw her. Your yami's in the hospital, enough said, and the Pharaoh was out cold."

Ryou took his hands under the table and wrung them worriedly. "I hope they find this person soon! I miss Bakura, and I want to know that he's doing better. And well, I miss them all."

"I can't say that I really miss the Pharaoh," Seto said as he picked up his coffee again. "And it's somewhat quieter without Bakura and Chaos coming in here and causing havoc."

"Kaiba!" Ryou said in a shocked tone. He could understand the other thinking like that, but to say it to him or the others . . .

"What?" Seto asked innocently. "I didn't say that I didn't miss them! I merely was making an observation. I have to be honest with you though, I miss Chaos the most." Ryou nodded.

"I understand," he said softly. "I think I would feel the same in your position."

Seto nodded in approval, threw one leg over the other, and picked up his newspaper right side up. "Good," he said as he began to read the front page. "We are in agreement."

After that, the kitchen became rather quiet. Ryou finished of his corn flakes, rinsed out the bowl, put it in the dishwasher, and found himself looking for something to do. He stood by the counter for a few minutes, thinking of what to do.

He looked over at Seto. A question that had been floating in his mind for some time finally came back and started to annoy him. He couldn't stand it anymore.

"Kaiba?" The only reply he got was a grunt.

"Do you remember anything for Egypt?" At this, Kaiba sat his paper down and looked directly at Ryou.

"Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering," Ryou spoke honestly. "I mean, you don't have a yami or anything . . . Yet you are the reincarnation or descendant, or whatever of the priest that battled the Pharaoh. I've always wondered if any memories have ever come up on their own."

"No," Seto said shortly, then picked up his paper and began to read.

Ryou sighed and walked out of the kitchen. "I guess that answers that," he said to himself.

At the same time, Yugi was just beginning to wake up for the first time. The unnaturally short teen stretched and yawned. His already large eyes grew wide as he saw what time it was. How had Mokuba convinced them into doing all of those things?

Yugi didn't remember too much though. He just remembered eating a lot of sugar . . . Maybe it was best that he didn't really remember it all.

He threw off his covers and got out of bed. As he looked at his bed head in the mirror, the door creaked open a little. Yugi looked up and saw a half awake Tazi. She shuffled in and scratched her head.

"I think I had a little too much sugar last night," she mumbled as she stood beside Yugi and looked at her own bed head. They then turned to each other.

"You remember anything in particular that could get us ridiculed for the rest our lives?" Yugi asked as pushed some of his blond bangs back. Tazi thought for a moment.

"No, not really. You?" Yugi shook his head. "Come on," Tazi said. "Lets go downstairs."

The two hikaris walked down the stairs with blurry vision and almost fell about five times. As they shuffled into the kitchen, they found the still frazzled, but slightly improved, Seto Kaiba. He looked up from his paper and saw the two bleary eyed teens.

"Well, there's two of the stooges, where's the third?" he asked with a smirk on his face. The two moaned.

"What did we do last night?" Tazi asked as she came over to the table and fell into a chair.

"Do you really want to know," Seto asked as he turned a page of the newspaper and looked at the business section.

"We'll find out sooner or later," Yugi said as he followed Tazi's actions. "We might as well know now."

"You and Mokuba ran around like chickens with their heads cut off until all three of you fell in a pile and dragged yourselves upstairs. You had a paper airplane war and managed to eat about two gallons of sugar." Seto then just went back to his paper and sipping his coffee.

Tazi tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes while yawning. "Great . . ." she said.

"Good morning," a voice called from the doorway. The two turned and saw Ryou. "Sleep well?" Tazi raised an eyebrow.

"The sleep was fine," she said sluggishly. "Waking up was the hard part." Ryou laughed softly and came to join them.

Only moments later, all four teens heard heavy footfalls coming down the stairs. Mokuba walked into the kitchen with his eyes half open. The young boy went over to his older brother and let his head fall forward onto Seto's shoulder. "Don't ever let me do that again," he mumbled.

A genuine smile came across Seto's face and he pulled his brother onto his lap. "Don't worry," he said as he turned the paper to the back. "I don't plan on it."

Yami had been sitting on the couch for the past couple hours and had found that there was nothing on TV. So finally, he'd given up on finding anything and was watching an old soap opera called Knots Landing.

He had actually begun to find it somewhat interesting. There also hadn't been a single sound from Chaos since he had left her in her room to sleep. Yami allowed himself to assume that that was a good thing.

"YAMI!!!" Chaos screamed from upstairs. Immediately, Yami leaped over the back of the sofa and scrambled up the stairs. His feet pounded down the hall and he swung open her bedroom door.

Chaos was sitting upright in her bed and her eyes bore into the wall across from her. She was drenched in sweat and her hands gripped the bed sheets. Yami came over to her bedside and bent down a little to try to get in her line of vision.

"What is it?" he asked. Chaos reached her hands for him in panic and took hold of his forearms and turned to look at him, but she didn't seem to see at all. She seemed to look straight through him.

"He's in Bakura's room!" she rasped. Yami looked at her in confusion. He tried to pull one of his arms out of her grasp but she only held on tighter. "We need to get to Bakura! Now, Yami!"

Yami managed to get one of his arms free and felt Chaos's forehead, she was still burning up. "You're delusional," he told her and he saw that her eyes were glazed over. Chaos shook her head furiously.

"He's gonna kill Bakura!" she shouted. She gripped Yami's arm even tighter and he felt her nails dig into his skin. "We need to get to the hospital."

Yami uselessly tried to get her hand off his arm. "Stop this, Chaos," he commanded in a low voice. "You're not well."

"I saw it, Yami!" she cried. "He's gonna kill Bakura! He's there right now! I've _seen_ it!" She raised her hand and used the Millennium Bracelet to show him the image.

Yami looked over to the middle of the room where Chaos showed him the fiend raising his gun to shoot Bakura. It then became fuzzy and it looked like it shorted out. He then felt Chaos's grip loosen.

The former Pharaoh turned back to his friend and saw her eyes roll into the back of her head. He took her by the shoulders and shook her a little. "Chaos?!" Her eyelids sank closed and she fell limp.

Yami eased her back onto the bed and lifted her eyelids open and saw that the pupils were normal. Her breathing was regular as well, but he felt uneasy. He ran out and went to the bathroom.

He found a washcloth in the cabinet and allowed it get wet under the cold water coming from the faucet. After wringing it out a little, he then went back to the room where Chaos was lying. Yami laid the folded cloth over Chaos's forehead after brushing back her wet, matted bangs.

Something told Yami that this wasn't part of her cold. That fiend was part of it somehow, and yet, he didn't sense him anywhere. Yami growled in disgust. He was tired of him toying with their minds.

The yami walked out of the room and went down the hall to Mr. Tashanazi's room. Even if these were mind games, he wanted to make sure that was all they were. He picked up the phone and dialed the number of the hospital. When the woman at the desk picked up he asked for the call to be transferred to Bakura's room.

Yami held his breath as he heard the other end's ringing. "Pick up, Tomb Robber!" he whispered. As if on command, he heard a click on the other end.

"Hello?" Bakura asked in a confused manner. Yami sighed in relief and felt his knees slowly give out and he sank to the floor.

"She was wrong," Yami said quietly.

"Pharaoh?!" Bakura asked. "Is that you?!" Yami wiped a hand over his eyes.

"Yes," he answered. "It's me."

"What's going on?" Bakura demanded. "You sounded like you'd been attacked by a Shadow creature." Yami leaned against the wall.

"Chaos had gone hysterical," he explained. "She said that our culprit was going to try and kill you again. She said that she'd seen it and even showed me an illusion of it." Bakura was silent for a moment.

"So she's okay now?"

"She passed out," Yami said simply. "I think he was toying with her mind again."

"But is she okay?" Bakura repeated. At this point, that was all he really cared about. Yami thought for a moment.

"Yeah," he finally said. "Yeah, she's fine."

Then, down the hall, he heard a thud. "I have to go," he said quickly.

"Wait!" Bakura shouted into the phone, hoping Yami wouldn't hang up on him.

"Yes?"

"Bring her here when she's well enough. Okay?"

"Alright," Yami said. "Goodbye."

As soon as he hung up the phone, he ran down the hall into Chaos's room. He flipped on the light switch and found that she'd rolled off the bed. Yami knelt beside her and turned her onto her back. Her eyes were half open, but still glazed over.

"Yami . . ." she whispered. She reached out with and shaky hand. Yami took it and squeezed gently.

"I'm here," he said softly. A strange peace came over her face.

"You're all right," she rasped. Yami's brows knitted together in worry. He started to pull her up so he could get her back to the bed.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked as he got her to her feet. She swayed slightly and gripped his jacket tightly. Chaos licked her dry lips.

"He attacked you," she said as if it made all the sense in the world. "He was going to kill you. I'm glad you're okay."

"Yami?" Chaos rasped and Yami felt himself snapped back into reality. He looked around and saw that he was standing in the doorway of Chaos's bed room. The former Pharaoh squinted his eyes in the darkness and saw that Chaos had rolled off the bed.

He went over to her and kneeled down next to her and had a sense of dejavu. What had happened? When had he zoned out? How long had he zoned out? "Are you okay?" he asked.

Chaos squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. "What happened?" she asked. Yami helped her sit up and she leaned against him for support as her head began to swim.

"I'm not sure," Yami answered. "I think you rolled off the bed." Chaos nodded and tried to stand up. Her vision began to go black and Yami stood up to steady her.

"Easy," he said. "Easy." He led her back to the bed and she laid back down. "I called Bakura," he told her. "He's fine." Chaos looked up at him in confusion.

"Why wouldn't he be?" she asked. Yami looked away to gather his bearings. She had said . . . She didn't remember anything . . . "Yami?"

"Never mind," he said softly. He reached out and felt her forehead. "Your fever's gone down," he commented. Chaos yawned. "I'll let you sleep now," Yami said as he walked out, turning off the lights as he left.

Yami went back down stairs and sat at the kitchen table. 'What is going on?' he wondered as he rubbed his temples. Outside, he heard thunder. The spirit walked out into the living room and looked out of the window. The skies were clouded over and snow was beginning to fall gently from the sky.

"I miss you, Yugi," he whispered. Then, a vision flashed before his eyes.

Yugi was struggling against the firm grip of the black cloaked fiend that Yami recognized from Chaos's illusions. "Let me go! Yami!!!" he cried.

"Yugi!" he called as he tried to run forward, but found himself unable to move. "Release him and show yourself!" he shouted to the man.

The hooded man cackled and took a knife out from his robes. He brought the knife toward the young teen's throat. "Yami!" Yugi begged. "Help me!"

He felt so helpless. He couldn't even feel his Shadow powers. "Let. Him. Go." he whispered in a deadly voice. That only made the fiend laugh more.

"What are you going to do about it, Pharaoh?" he asked tauntingly. "As you can see, I have total control." He brought the knife closer to Yugi's throat and the sharp steel lightly pressed against his skin.

Yugi whimpered slightly. "Yami . . ."

"Who are you?!" Yami demanded. "Tell me!"

From under the hood, he could see a sadistic smirk play on the man's lips. "You know me quite well, Pharaoh." Yami tried to struggle to somehow break his invisible binds, but found it futile.

"Show me!" he shouted. The man laughed maniacally and pressed the blade a little harder so a little blood trickled down Yugi's neck.

"Stop it!" Yami shouted. He clenched his fists tightly. "Leave him alone! Now show yourself!"

"As you wish," he said as he took a hold of his hood. "Have you looked in the mirror lately?" He pulled off the hood and Yami's eyes grew wide. He was looking at . . . Himself.

"You . . . You . . ." His imposter laughed.

"That's right, I'm you," he said as he raised his knife. "And how does it feel to know that you killed your hikari?" He then slit Yugi's throat.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!" Yami screamed as he grabbed fistfuls of his hair and sank to his knees. He screamed at the top of his lungs and dug his fingertips into his scalp and squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

"Yami?" Chaos called as she stumbled down the steps worriedly. In her worry, she fell down the last three steps, but continued to scramble over to Yami. She gritted her teeth as his screams continued and took hold of his shoulders.

"Yami!" she shouted as she shook him. "Snap out of it!"

Yami stopped his screaming and gripped her upper arms. "He was in my head . . ." he whispered shakily. "He . . . He tried to make think that he killed Yugi!"

Chaos looked at him and loosened her grip. He was falling apart right in front of her very eyes. Chaos pulled him into her arms and she could feel him tremble. He feebly put his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I'm gonna kill'im," he whispered. "I swear, I'll kill'im."

The female yami rocked him back and forth. "We'll get him," she whispered. "Don't worry. He can't hide forever."

Yami nodded and looked outside and saw that it was now growing dark. Another blanket of fresh snow covered the ground.


	12. chp12

The next morning, Yami found himself completely exhausted. All night, he'd been plagued with nightmares. When he got downstairs, he'd found that Chaos had at some point in the night moved down to the couch. Not wanting to disturb her, he crept quietly into the kitchen.

Yami tried to be quiet when opening the cabinets, but it was nearly impossible. To his amazement, it didn't even arose her. He found some cereal and quietly began to munch on it. He then took the box upstairs with him while he got cleaned up.

When he came back down the stairs, he saw that Chaos wasn't there anymore. Yami reached the bottom and saw that she was in the kitchen, munching on another box of cereal. He set the other box on the table.

"Feeling any better?" he asked. Chaos raised an eyebrow.

"I made it down the stairs in one piece didn't I?" Yami laughed.

"I guess that means we can go see Bakura then." Chaos nodded and closed the box of cereal.

"I'll go get cleaned up real quick," she said as she made her way towards the stairs. Chaos then ran up them to find some clothes.

Yami was amazed by this sudden recovery, but he decided not to ponder too much on it. He sat at the table and waited as she got ready to go. All the while, he munched on Cheerios.

"Okay," Chaos's voice said. "I'm ready." She came down the steps and Yami saw that she was wearing her semi long denim coat again, this time with a white T-shirt under it.

"A little cold for that isn't it?" he asked as she walked past him to the garage door.

"I'll be fine," she said as she took the keys off the hook and opened the garage door. "Come on."

Yami shrugged and followed her out to the car. He was caught by surprise when she tossed him the keys. But he acted quick enough to catch them before they hit him. "I don't feel like driving," she simply said as she got in the passenger seat.

"Yes, your majesty," Yami mocked as he walked around to the other side of the car. "Your wish is my command, your majesty." He opened the door and got into the driver's seat.

"While you're at it," she said idly. "Close the garage door. The door opener is on the visor." She laughed when he looked at her with a look that told her just how lame he thought the whole thing was.

Yami closed the garage door after slightly slamming the car door. "I suppose you want me to start the car too?" he asked. Chaos rolled her eyes at him.

"Lets just get to the hospital," she said in a whiny voice. Yami put the keys in the ignition and brought the car to life.

"I liked you better when you were sick," he said as he put the car in reverse and pulled out the driveway.

The trip to the hospital was filled with short, pointless, arguments. By the time they got there, they were about ready to go for each other's throat. Once they were in the hospital, things quieted down a little.

They passed the desk and several nurses, and even Dr. Hikura by the time they reached the elevator. They got in and found that they were the only ones going up. As soon as the door closed, they fought about who was going to push the button to go up. Yami ended up winning that argument, which was the first time that had happened.

Once they got out and walked down the hall, things quieted down once more. They got to Bakura's room and they went in, while another senseless argument began. Bakura looked at them with a look of pure confusion. Finally, he voiced his opinion.

"Okay, ladies," he voiced. "Lets stop before you start hacking up hairballs." Both turned to him and hissed like cats. Bakura allowed himself to slide a little more under his covers. "There're enough bad vibes between those two to run a voodoo factory," he whispered to himself.

"Ah, shut up," Chaos finally drawled. Yami glared at her and walked to the other side of the bed.

Bakura looked back and forth. "What? You two are alone in the same place for a day and you start cracking up? I'd like to see you guys do that for a week."

"Shizuka ni," Yami spat.

After a moment of silence, everything strangely went back to peace. Yami and Chaos were standing next to each other in a believable coexistence, and Bakura was no longer a target for anger.

"So everything's been smooth here?" Chaos asked. Bakura nodded.

"You feeling better?" he asked as he sat up and leaned against the back of the bed. It was Chaos's turn to nod.

"Things were a little bumpy for a while, but I'm okay now."

"Now we just need to find that monster," Yami growled. He hadn't forgotten about the vision that fiend had created for him. "He toyed with our minds for half the day. I'm not going to let him get away with it."

Chaos sighed. "But how do we find him? We can't just wait for him to show up again. It would take too long, and who knows what he'd do . . ."

Yami turned to Bakura. "Got any ideas, Tomb Robber?" Bakura looked up from where he was looking at his Millennium Ring.

"Yeah," he whispered. "Chaos?"

"Hai?" she asked as she looked over at him.

"Come here," he spoke softly. Chaos obeyed and walked over to the bedside. Bakura took off the Ring and gripped it with both hands. "I want you to take the Ring," he said finally. "Use it to track him down. It will get a better perception than your Bracelet."

Chaos looked at Bakura with disbelief. "But Bakura . . . You'll be defenseless without it," she finished with a whisper.

"What would I need it for here?" he asked. "With you tracking him, if he did show up, you and the Pharaoh would be here to save my sorry hide." Bakura finished his statement with an over exaggerated smile.

Chaos still didn't really look convinced. "Well . . . Okay," she whispered. Bakura motioned for her to bend down and she did. The white haired teen slipped the Ring over her head and she stood up and pulled her ponytail out from under the rope.

She looked at it sitting on her chest and looked over at Bakura with a sly grin. "It looks way better on me," Chaos said with a wink.

The spirit then swayed a little and found her vision growing dark. Chaos's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slumped back into Yami's arms. Yami caught her and looked at Chaos with disbelief. "What happened?" he cried. Bakura looked from his bed a little worried.

"The extra magical powers she received must have overwhelmed her some," he finally said. "I think she'll fine in a few minuets."

"Some?" Yami asked as he sat Chaos's limp form into a chair. Chaos was trying to gather her breath as her head hung back.

Bakura looked away. "I thought she was getting better," he whispered. "I wouldn't have given it to her if I had known."

Yami looked over at the guilt-stricken Tomb Robber. "None of us knew it was going to happen," he growled. "It could have happened to any of us." Bakura nodded, but couldn't bring himself to look over at Chaos.

"I hope you guys kill him," he said abruptly. Yami looked over at Bakura in surprise. It was quite a strange comment to come out of the middle of nowhere.

"That's what I plan on doing," Yami said as he reached into his jacket and gripped his gun. 'I'm not letting him get away with those illusions,' Yami thought angrily. "In fact, I intend to do it myself."

Seto walked down the halls of Domino high to his first class of the morning. Everything had been much quieter the night before. Mokuba had proclaimed that he never wanted to see ice cream again for as long as he lived. Seto gave him three days to change his mind.

"Hey, Kaiba!" a Brooklyn voice called from down the hall. "Wait up!" Seto slowed to a halt and looked up at the ceiling with an exasperated sigh.

"Why now?" he pleaded. Joey Wheeler was not exactly one of the people on his list that he liked to see first thing in the morning.

Joey and Tristan ran down the hall to where Kaiba was waiting for them. When they got there, they saw a very tired, unhappy CEO. "Man," Joey said with a whistle. "What side of the bed did you get up on, Kaiba?" Seto glared at the blonde with one of his infamous death glares.

"What do you want, Wheeler?" he demanded. All Seto really wanted to do was get to class so he could get the day over with. Unfortunately, all ending the school day would get him would be several more hours of work at Kaiba Corp.

Joey scratched the back of his head nervously and gave a self conscious smile. Kaiba wasn't in the mood to be pushed, better make it quick. "I was just wondering how Yug' and the others are doin'," he finally said. "We haven't got to hear anything from them or anything and Yami really couldn't tell us anything."

Seto sighed, and he began to walk to his class, while motioning for the two to follow them. "Everybody's fine," he said as opened one of his books and shuffled through papers to find his homework. "We're just waiting for this all to be over."

"Yeah," Joey said softly. "I hope Yami and them are doing okay too."

"How much longer do you think this will take?" Tristan asked as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I have no idea," Kaiba said quickly as he walked into his classroom, leaving Joey and Tristan standing by themselves in the hallway.

"Charming as usual," Joey said with a shrug as they began to walk to their class.

"What else can you expect from Kaiba?" Tristan asked as he looked out the long set of windows. "That's how he always is."

"Tazi's working on it," Joey said as he looked out the window as well. "Who knows? Maybe she sees something we can't."

"Or something that he won't let anyone else see," Tristan suggest. Joey shrugged.

"Anything's possible," he said as they came to their morning class. "If there's one thing I've learned after all these weird happenings, it's that anything's possible."

Kaiba walked across the room to his desk at the very back corner right next to the window, and the heater. As he sat down, he found himself looking out the window. If you were to keep going down the road he was following with his vision, you'd end up at the docks. A lot weird, and dangerous things had come through those docks.

For the first time in a while, he found himself laughing. Chaos technically had come from those docks. When Tazi and her father had moved to Japan from U.S., they had landed in Tokyo, then boated to Domino.

But as soon as his little moment of joy had begun, it ended. A strange sense of foreboding had sunk in and he found himself looking towards the docks very intently. Something was going to happen soon, he could feel it in the pit of his stomach. Finally, he shook it off as the teacher walked in.

'You're paranoid, Kaiba,' he told himself.

Chaos groaned as she felt herself being brought back to reality. The bright lights in the room were hurting her eyes as she cracked them open. What had happened? She remembered Bakura giving her the Ring, then darkness.

"Welcome back," Bakura commented as she sat up in her chair and rubbed her temples.

"What happened?" she asked as she squinted at the lights while she looked over at him.

"You were overwhelmed by trying to control two Millennium Items," Yami answered as he came up behind her. Chaos turned around and saw that he was constantly letting his hand slide into his coat.

"How long was I out?" she pondered as she stood up. Her legs felt a little wobbly and she took hold of the back of the chair for support.

"Just a couple minutes," Bakura replied. "Do you feel that you have control of the Ring now?" Chaos nodded as she slowly let go off the chair and walked over to Bakura's bed.

"Are you gonna be okay?" she asked with concern. It was Bakura's turn to nod.

"I will be once you guys get that guy," he said with a low voice.

"I think that's an indication that we should be going," Yami said quickly. He was already walking to the door. "Lets go."

"I'll be there in a second," Chaos said when Bakura grabbed her wrist. Yami nodded reluctantly.

"I'll wait downstairs for you," he said as he walked out, shutting the door behind him.

Chaos turned to Bakura and saw a look of puzzlement on his face. "What exactly happened last night?" he asked as he looked at the door strangely. "He's bent on killing that guy, now more than ever." Chaos thought back to the night before when Yami had been falling apart right in front of her.

"That monster was toying with his mind," she whispered softly. "He made himself look like the Pharaoh and showed him killing Yugi. It really shook him up." Bakura shook his head in disgust.

"Just watch his back and make sure he doesn't do anything irrational," he advised.

Chaos nodded. "I will." She then turned and made her way to the door.

"Be careful," Bakura called. Chaos looked back.

"I will," she said softly as she closed the door.

Bakura sat in the bed and looked around his empty room. "You'd better be," he said quietly. "I don't want to be left alone with that Pharaoh. That would get very lonely, very quickly."

When Chaos walked into the waiting room and found Yami pacing. His hands were fidgeting and his right kept darting into his coat to grip an unknown object. Chaos could see why even Bakura was wondering what was wrong. Yami was blinded so badly by fury that all he was seeing was crimson.

"Ready? Or haven't you finished putting a floor in the waiting room?" Chaos asked as she put her hands on her hips, something she really didn't do too often. Yami whipped around.

"Lets go," he said as he headed straight for the doors. Not wanting to waste any time either, Chaos followed him.

The two walk out of the hospital and out to the street. They both looked around in every direction. There were so many places he could be. This was were the Millennium Ring would come in handy.

"Do your thing," Yami said as he looked over at Chaos. The spirit of the Bracelet nodded and looked down at the Ring and took it in one hand.

"Ring," she called. "Show me . . ." Before she could finish her statement, the Ring's pointers pointed straight ahead. They tugged furiously on the Ring and it seemed that they would pull themselves loose.

"Come on!" Yami called as he sprinted down the road in the direction the Ring had pointed. "He has to be close!"

"Wait up!" Chaos called as she chased after the Pharaoh. "I'm the one the with Ring!" After a hard sprint, Chaos caught up and even passed Yami.

Chaos moved onto the sidewalk so she would run into any cars or vise versa. After several blocks, the Ring directed her to take a left. She took a sharp turn with Yami right at her heels. Then, several blocks later it pointed to the right. Once again, Chaos changed course and Yami followed right behind her.

About two miles later and about ten course changes later, the Ring suddenly became lifeless and they stopped running. Chaos looked around and saw that she was in an alley. There was nothing abnormal about it, and she didn't feel anything dark or foreign.

"This is where we found Bakura," Yami panted. Chaos looked back at him.

"You sure?" she asked in disbelief. Yami nodded firmly.

"I'm positive," he answered. Chaos swallowed hard and tried to catch her breath.

"There's nothing here," she concluded. "He's leading us on a wild goose chase." Yami nodded as he wiped the sweat from his face with his jacket sleeve.

"True," he said as he took a deep breath. "But we have no choice but to follow." Chaos scowled and looked down at the Millennium Ring, which was still dead.

"Well this just sucks," she drawled, spitting out every word scornfully. Yami nodded and looked up at the sky.

"I would have to agree," Yami replied. He then heard the clanking of the Millennium Ring's pointers and looked back over at Chaos and saw that the Ring had picked up on the scent again.

Immediately, Chaos was yanked forward and she began to run to the other end of the alley. Yami took off after her and in the process, slipped and hit the old pavement at a harsh impact. The former Pharaoh hissed in pain and quickly scrambled to his feet and sprinted in the direction Chaos had run. He caught up with her when she stopped at the curb.

In her hands, the Ring's pointers were going wild. They were all pointing in different directions. Chaos growled in frustration. She closed her eyes and concentrated harder on the Item.

Yami breathed heavily and gritted his teeth as sweat ran into his newly acquired scrapes. "Come on," he said under his breath. Chaos seemed to be chanting something under her breath and it appeared to be working. Slowly, all the pointers turned to one direction, straight.

Chaos opened her eyes and looked down at the pointers. They were all completely straight and they didn't even shake. Without any more thought on it, Chaos ran out into the street, nearly sending two cars colliding. Yami didn't do much better.

This time, their coarse didn't change. A couple minutes later they found themselves by the docks, in the middle of all the storage warehouses. The Ring then died once again.

"This is becoming rather annoying," Yami growled as he looked at his surroundings. Every direction pretty much looked the same. The ground was covered with fog that went up to his waist and made everything in the distant look like white-out. The air was chilly, yet moist from the sea.

Chaos shuffled her feet anxiously and snow crunched under her boots. She couldn't sense anything, but she knew he was near. The spirit looked over at the other and saw that he was beginning to reach into his jacket again, and this time, he did pull his gun out. Chaos then did the same.

For a moment, the two stood next to each other with their guns raised to their shoulders and all that could be heard was their breathing. The tension in the air grew and they both began to grow nervous. Both knew something was about to happen, but they couldn't be sure of what.

"I'll take those . . ." a some what familiar voice said from somewhere. But it wasn't really spoken, the words had been brought to their ears by a strange wind. Suddenly, their guns were torn out of their hands and taken to some unknown destination. Both yamis look frantically for the culprit.

"Ring!" Chaos snapped. "Where is he?!" The Ring glowed and the pointers jingled and pointed . . . Up. Chaos and Yami looked up and saw what they knew they would, their enemy.

The fiend was floating in mid air, mocking them with his smirk. "It took you long enough to find me," he said tauntingly. Yami growled dangerously and clenched his fists. Slowly, he began to call upon his Puzzle.

"_DIE!!!_" Yami shouted as he shot out his hand and send a beam of dark energy straight at the man. As it grew nearer, the fiend only waved his hand as if to brush it off, and did just that. The beam bounced off an invisible barrier and headed back to the two on the ground, twice as strong as before.

Chaos cried out in surprise and they both dove out of the way. The beam drove itself into the ground and shards off cement flew in about every direction. As the smoke cleared, the yamis heard the fiend laughing.

"You'll have to do much better than that if you want to defeat me, Pharaoh," he called from his bird's eye view.

"Don't worry," Yami called with hatred. "I've only just begun."

Chaos looked from where she was and saw what the fiend had done. He had obviously known that they would move out of the way of such an obvious attack. The man had played an ancient tactic, divide and conquer.

The spirit's thoughts were broken by the sound of Yami shouting in Egyptian. She whipped her head around and saw a Wall Shadow jump out of the ground and swipe at Yami. He jumped back just in time. All the while, the fiend laughed. As a Headless Knight came after the Pharaoh, he shot an attack at it, but it only absorbed it and continued after him.

"Regroup!" he shouted as he ran towards her and away from the Duel Monster. Chaos started to run toward him when she was stopped by a Wall Shadow that came out of the ground.

"Just run!" Chaos shouted as she turned the other direction and ran away from the thing. Yami also chose his own direction and ran. The warehouses became a labyrinth as they ran from one monster after another after discovering that they only absorbed the attacks.

Finally, Chaos was headed off by a Headless Knight. When she turned around, there was a Wall Shadow. With a battle cry, she headed straight for it and dove in between its legs. The Wall Shadow wailed in aggravation and disappeared into warehouse wall. Chaos started to scramble to her feet, but her boot slipped on wet snow and she crashed back onto the cement.

The Headless Knight turned around and raised his sword high. Chaos looked up and saw that she couldn't escape. She covered her face with her arms and shut her eyes tightly.


	13. chp13

When Chaos realized that she was still in one piece, she lowered her arms and opened one eye to look around. At first, she didn't believe what she saw, she opened the other eye. The Headless Knight had brought down his sword, but it had gone right through her!

Just to confirm her belief, she dove right at the thing as if to tackle it. Chaos went right through it and crashed into the pile of snow behind. She stood up and grinned. "THEY'RE JUST ILLUSIONS!!!" she shouted, hoping Yami would hear. Chaos even allowed herself to laugh.

"Well," she said as she pulled her sleeve away from her Bracelet. "I think I'll just make my own little illusions." Chaos closed her eyes and concentrated on making the fog seem thicker so the fiend couldn't see them as well. Then, she made her own monsters, just like the ones he had. Chaos assumed that he was controlling them by sight, and eventually, he wouldn't be able to tell which were his and which were hers.

"Now to find that Pharaoh . . ."

Yami was running from a Wall Shadow when he heard Chaos shouting. "THEY'RE JUST ILLUSIONS!!!" He suddenly found himself very confused. Yami stopped running and whirled around and ran at the Wall Shadow. Just as Chaos had said, it was an illusion and he passed right through it.

They were rather impressive illusions as well. But they really couldn't do anything once the victim had discovered what they were. That really didn't matter now though. Now, he needed to find Chaos.

As he ran through different paths between the warehouses, he noticed that the fog was growing thicker. That was no doubt some of Chaos's work. He also saw an illusion of him running away from a Headless Knight. "Good work, Chaos," he whispered.

Yami looked up and saw that the fiend was beginning to become frustrated. He couldn't tell which monsters were his and which were Chaos's. The spirit wasn't sure if the fiend knew that those illusions of him and Chaos running weren't real. Yami hoped he didn't, it would buy them some more time.

The spirit of the Puzzle took another look at the fiend just to keep track of him and did a double take. A dark, and very powerful, energy beam was headed straight toward the fiend and he hadn't even seen it coming. It hit him at full blast in the back and the fiend fell from his spot.

All the illusions immediately went away, even Chaos's. Yami ran the direction the fiend had fallen. He was going to finish that monster off with his bare hands if he had to, that is, if the fall hadn't killed him. But somehow, Yami had a feeling that it was going to take more than a fall to finish him off.

As he ran, he slipped on a patch of ice and his ankle twisted painfully in an unnatural manner. Yami howled in pain as he landed in a snow drift next to a warehouse. The spirit gritted his teeth and just laid there for a moment. It didn't feel like anything was broken, but it still burned.

Slowly, Yami got up and tested his right ankle. Pain shot up his leg as he put pressure on it. Yami growled in frustration and began to hobble in the direction to where he'd seen the fiend fall.

Chaos came to the place where she'd shot her enemy down and was aghast when he wasn't there, and there wasn't even a place in the snow to show where he had landed. She'd watched him fall! Where could he have gotten to so quickly?

She shook her head and tried to decide what to do next. 'I should probably find that Pharaoh,' she thought. "Ring?" Immediately, the Ring pointed to her right.

"You're becoming reliant on that thing," a voice, just coincidentally to her right, said. Chaos turned and saw Yami limping towards her. She was at his side within moments to help him along.

"What happened?" she asked as they stopped. Yami growled unhappily.

"I slipped," he muttered. "Where is he?" he then demanded.

"I don't know," Chaos admitted. Yami glared at her.

"What do you mean you don't know?! You're the one that shot him down!"

"But he's not there!" Chaos shot back.

The Ring then came to life and the pointers directed them to their right. Chaos sighed. "I guess we're back to square one."

About fifteen minutes later, they found themselves in front of probably the most run down warehouse of them all. Yami's ankle was throbbing and Chaos was feeling jumpy. The Ring decided to go dead yet again.

Chaos took a deep breath and let it out silently, leaving a little cloud in the crisp air. A cold chill ran through her and she looked over at Yami. His eyes were boring at the doors, as if he were to look long enough, the doors would burn open. But finally, Yami was the first to start walking towards the doors. Chaos was quick to go after him.

Together, they pushed the doors open. They creaked in protest from age and lack of use in the past years. As they looked in, they found that it was too dark to really see anything. This though, didn't seem to phase Yami one bit. He walked right in as if he owned the place.

'I'm going to kill you,' he thought as he walked in. Behind him, he could hear Chaos's cautious footsteps. The warehouse was obviously condemned. The rafters threatened to fall and it was completely barren except for a couple crates.

Chaos couldn't help but tread with caution. But she had to keep up with Yami so he wouldn't get himself killed. It was obvious that he was furious.

"That's quite far enough," a deadly and venomous voice called. The two stopped and strained to look ahead of them.

After a little while, their eyes adjusted to the darkness and for the first time, they saw their enemy's face. It was pale and had a huge scar run diagonally from its forehead to its chin. The man's hair was shoulder length and scraggly. It was mostly black, with a few dark purple strips here and there. Stubble covered his chin and obsidian eyes bore into them.

"So you show yourself," Yami said. "You're not as big of a coward as I thought you were." The man cocked the safety of the gun he was pointing at them.

"I would watch my tongue if I were you, Pharaoh," he said with a smirk. He then looked over to Chaos. "I see you brought your little pet with you. Or did she follow you? It seems no matter where you go she's at your heels." Chaos looked at him with disgust.

"What exactly is it you're after?" Yami demanded as he shifted all his weight to his good ankle.

"Didn't Bakura tell you already?" he asked in an almost innocent voice. "You all dead!" Chaos sighed, they'd heard this already.

"But why?" she asked. It was something that had been eluding them from the beginning, now, maybe they could get some answers.

"Why?" he asked. "Because you ruined my life, Pharaoh. For thousands of years, I've wandered from the Shadow Realm to the real world. You did it all because I lost a Shadow Game to you." Yami frowned.

"Those were the rules," he said. "When you challenged you had to have known the consequences of losing." The man gripped the gun a little tighter.

"But I wasn't suppose to lose!" he shouted. "I've been condemned to my own nightmare for all these years because of you! And now, you'll die for it." The man cocked the gun, and fired straight at Yami.

Yami had not seen it coming so quickly, so he braced himself for the impact. But what happened next, neither he nor the fiend had predicted, Chaos got in the way.

Chaos tackled Yami and they both went crashing to the ground. Yami was sure that his heart had stopped, even if it were only for a second. He sat up and found that Chaos was in his arms. All anger was lost for the moment as he wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. Panic rose in his throat as he felt her trembling. Then, he felt something warm ooze over his fingers. Yami didn't even need to look to know that it was blood.

The spirit pulled the other away a little and saw that the other was grasping her left shoulder. A pair of dark blue eyes looked at him with immense pain. Chaos's breath hissed as she breathed through clenched teeth. Yami felt anger beginning to boil inside him again.

Yami allowed Chaos to get over by the wall and he stood up and glared at the fiend. His eyes were partially shaded by his golden bangs and the eye of Horus glowed brightly on his forehead. At first, the fiend seemed a little dismayed, but the same familiar smirk played on his lips and he sent a similar image to the one he'd given Yami the night before to his head.

Yami clenched his fists as the images came to his head. Suddenly, he shot out his hand and a force of energy sent the fiend flying back against the back wall. Yami then took the gun the fiend and had dropped and pointed it at the man and began to empty the whole magazine on him as he shouted a war cry.

The fiend's body was slammed against the wall again as bullets drilled into his chest. Slowly, he sank to the floor, all the while leaving a trail of blood on the wall. To add to Yami's fury, the fiend didn't seem dismayed at all. In fact, he had a sadistic smirk on his face as blood trickled down his chin. Then, he began to laugh.

Yami emptied out the gun and tossed it aside. His vision was crimson and his mind was in fury. He then raised his hand to finish the job.

Chaos looked from the sidelines as she grasped her shoulder. It burned horribly. She clenched her teeth and repeatedly squeezed her eyes shut. Blood seeped through her fingers and soaked her thin jacket.

The young woman watched as Yami took his anger out by shooting the fiend repeatedly. As the fiend sank to the floor, he looked over at her with a sadistic smirk. She couldn't understand why he didn't seem to care that Yami was about to blast him into oblivion.

He laughed insanely and that same wind whisper he used earlier reached her ears. "I guess you'll never know about your past . . ." it came in a gasp, and yet, it was taunting. Chaos's grew wide as she looked into the eyes of the fiend. He wasn't lying, he knew everything.

Yami raised his hand and shouted the words of the fiend's destruction. "_MIND CRUSH!!!_" The whole warehouse became distorted.

"_NO!_" Chaos screamed as she watched the man's mind smash and fall to the Shadows. Tears welled in her eyes. He had known . . . He had known everything . . .

Chaos squeezed her eyes tightly as sobs escaped her lips. She had been so close . . . Sobs wracked her tired frame like never before. She grasped her wound tightly with one hand and clenched her hand into a fist and drove into wet snow that had blown in. Chaos just leaned against the wall and sobbed.

Yami looked at the now empty shell of his enemy. He'd done it, he'd killed him. The Pharaoh felt a strange sense of calm. He breathed deeply and realized how drained he felt. He had used quite a bit of magic.

Behind him, the spirit heard pitiful crying. 'Chaos!' Yami remember as he whirled around and limped as quickly as he could over to her.

Yami knelt down next to her and studied her. Blood was still seeping from her fingers that were tightly grasping her shoulder. Chaos's body was hunched over and wracked with sobs. 'Did it really hurt that bad?' he wondered as he laid a gentle hand on her right shoulder and looked at her with great concern.

Chaos squeezed her eyes shut, but tears still leaked and poured over her scraped cheeks. The pain she was feeling was by far the worse she'd ever gone through. He had known . . . She felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her tear filled eyes to see a bleary Yami.

"We did it," he simply said, trying to lighten the mood. But then he noticed something more, something far beyond physical pain in her eyes.

"He knew . . ." she whispered with a shaky voice. Yami couldn't figure out what she was talking about and gave a slight shake of the head and shrug of the shoulders. "He knew everything . . ." she said a little louder. She looked straight into his eyes. "He knew everything!"

Slowly, everything sunk in. The last few minutes went through his mind. The gentle wind whisper, Chaos's scream. Yami felt like he was going to be sick. The turmoil in those deep pools was more than he could handle.

Chaos went back to sobbing and Yami looked away. He had been so incredibly bent on killing him, he hadn't really heard anything else except his own mind yelling the command for a mind crush. Chaos had taken a bullet for him. And now this . . . He knew that nothing he could do would comfort her now. So he didn't even try.

The former Pharaoh just wanted to crawl under a rock and die slowly and painfully.

Chaos didn't even really realize that Yami was there anymore. The tears were never ending and they only increased. He may have been her only chance. She couldn't believe it. Chaos let out a small wail and sobbed some more. Everything was closing in on her. She couldn't take it, the stress, the pain, both physical and mental, and the turmoil that was building up inside of her. Everything was caving in.

Yami felt something in the air change. He looked back to Chaos and saw that her Phoenix pendant had begun to glow in the crystal. As her sobs increase, the light became brighter. It went from red, to yellow, and finally, white. Then, as Chaos screamed, the whole warehouse completely exploded into flames.

All the way across town, Seto was reading a book and ignoring the teacher when the whole school was filled with the sound of an explosion. Out of shock, Seto dropped his book. Immediately, the class was filled with questioning voices. Seto, however, chose to ponder to himself.

It had sounded like a sonic boom, only it was much too close. When he turned and looked out the window, he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He could see it as it went all the way up to the clouds. A solid tunnel of fire swirled miles high into the sky.

Seto thought for a moment and it hit him again. It was by the docks . . . Chaos! Without any further thought, he stood up, left his things, and ran out of the classroom. As he ran, he paged his driver. By the time he'd gone down all the flights of stairs, the limo would be waiting for him.

Excited voices filled every room as he passed them. As he passed one room, Joey and Tristan ran out and watched Kaiba nearly jump a whole set of stairs. "Come on!" Joey said as he quickly followed with Tristan right behind him.

Kaiba burst out the front door and saw his limo pull up. He jumped the three steps and heard shouts behind him. "Kaiba!" Joey shouted. "Is it them?!"

Seto felt that it was no time to argue. "YES!" he shouted before getting in his limo. "Follow me!" Then his limo tore off down the road.

"You heard him!" Tristan said as he and Joey went to get his parked motorcycle.

At first, Yami tried to shield himself from the flames, but found that his Millennium Puzzle was protecting him. The Pharaoh looked around him in sheer awe, and panic. The whole warehouse was covered in a cyclone of swirling fire.

Beside him, Chaos's scream continued. Yami saw that her eyes were still shut tightly and the tears still trailed down her cheeks. Fire leapt off her body and joined the rest, but she didn't seemed to be harmed by it. Yami concluded that she was the source of the fire.

Yami reached out to touch her, but found that she could burn him, unlike the rest of the flames. He was forced to watch with wide eyes as Chaos's scream went. Finally, her scream became quieter and the flames slowly began to die down and finally, they died out, all except for some.

A set of two fire wings were on Chaos's back and they looked like they belonged. The Phoenix pendant still shone brilliantly and it didn't look like it intended on dieing out with the rest of the flames.

Chaos opened her eyes and looked at Yami. Something was different, they seemed more full than before. There had been an often emptiness in them that he had become accustom to. She looked at him with a sad and tired smile.

"Oh, my Pharaoh," she whispered. Yami's breath gave out on him. She remembered . . . That's what it was! She remembered her past! That was it!

Then, her wings died out and she collapsed. Yami felt like he'd been knocked back into reality and looked at the Phoenix pendant and saw that it was still glowing. He reach forward to touch it. It gave off one more brilliant flash before dieing out as well. Yami yanked his finger away as it was scorched by the crystal.

He thought for a moment. Panic entered him again . . . What had she said?! He couldn't remember! He yelled in frustration, but then decided that it wasn't important, she remembered, that was all that mattered.

Yami turned her over and looked at the wound in her shoulder, it was still bleeding and it didn't look like it intended on stopping. He took off his coat and wrapped her in it when he saw that she was shivering. Yami then stood up and looked around.

The ceiling had caved in and debris laid every where. But what he didn't see was more disturbing. Where was that fiend's body?! Had it burned in the fire? His guess was confirmed after several minutes of searching and he found a pile of fine ash.

The Pharaoh limped back over to the unconscious Chaos and fell. It was over . . . He could see Yugi again . . .

He looked down at Chaos. He still wasn't really sure what had happened. The spirit then noticed something, she was breathing really shallow. Yami tried to smack her awake, but found that she didn't even flinch. Panic took him once more.

All he knew was that he needed to get help. He quickly limped out of the warehouse and found that it was right next to the road. Yami swallowed hard and looked both ways. He couldn't believe his luck.

Kaiba's limo pulled up and he was out of the car before it even came to a stop. He took one look at half demolished warehouse and swore softly. A few moments later, Tristan and Joey pulled up on the motorcycle.

"You okay, man?!" Joey asked as he jumped off and ran over to Yami. "What are you standing out here in a tank for?! It's freezing!" Yami looked over at Joey and blinked a couple times, still trying to catch his breath from all that had happened.

"I'm well aware of that," he said softly. "Chaos . . ."

"Where's Chaos?!" Kaiba demanded. "Was she in there?!" Yami nodded as he swallowed hard.

"And so was I," he answered. Joey looked at him in disbelief and Tristan walked over with the same expression.

"How did you survive that?!" Yami shook his head.

"That's not really important right now," he spoke in between breaths. "Chaos needs to go to the hospital. She was shot." Seto's eyes grew wide. He went back to the limo, took out his trench coat and ran into the shambles. A few minutes later, he came out with Chaos wrapped carefully in his trench coat and cradled in his arms. Without a word, he got into the limo with Chaos still in his arms.

"Come on, Pharaoh," he called from inside. Yami nodded farewell to his friends and got in the limo as well.

"We'll meet you there, Yami," Joey assured him. As soon as he was in the limo, they drove away.

Yami sat opposite of Seto, who was still cradling the young woman in his arms. He looked down at her with a grim look on his face. "The bullet went clean through," he said quietly. "That's one thing in our favor. But I don't think she's just unconscious. What happened in there, Yami?"

The spirit looked over at the CEO. He briefly explained and Seto's eyes grew wider and wider. "She caused that?" he asked in disbelief. Yami nodded. Seto shook his head with disbelief and he looked intently at Chaos. 'You'd better be okay,' he thought as he reached out and brushed some hair from her face.

Some blood was even beginning to seep through his trench coat. Seto pressed his hand over the wound and bit his lip. "Drive faster!" he yelled to the driver. Chaos's skin had become pale and clammy, and Seto had begun to worry.

Yami looked at the floor of the car. He'd been thinking of how Chaos remembered the past. They could all know now. But why couldn't he remember what she had said? No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even begin to imagine what she could have said. He thought back to when he had touched the crystal, it had let of a searing light, that was when he first realized he couldn't remember. If he couldn't remember . . . There was a good chance Chaos didn't remember.

And what had happened with all that fire? Surely it should have consumed them both. Had it really come from that Phoenix pendant? Maybe it really did have some mystical energies after all.

The memory of her face was killing him. He hated himself for it. Once again, Yami just wanted to die. He knew that he could never apologize for something like that. The damage was everlasting. Never in his whole life had he ever felt so empty.

/Yami?/ an unsure voice filled his head. Yami looked out the window.

Hello, Yugi,he said with a sad happiness. Where are you?

/Heading to the hospital,/ he answered, somewhat aware of his other half's distress. /Ryou couldn't wait to see Bakura, and I volunteered to go with him. Where are you? I felt my link come back, but you haven't been answering./

I'm heading to the hospital as well,Yami told his hikari. He allowed himself a glance over at Seto, who was holding Chaos. Is Tazi with you?Before Yugi even answered, he knew the answer.

/No,/ he said reluctantly. Yami scowled in disgust. Her other half was bleeding and unconscious, and she hadn't even thought to make her way to find her. Sometimes Tazi just outraged him. /She was going to go to the school and try to put us in favor of our teachers after being absent for these past couple days. We decided that she could pull this off the best./ Yami sighed, so she actually did have a reason. He had been hoping for some other emotion to fill him instead of this emptiness.

I'll probably get there when you do,the yami finally said.

/Okay, Yami,/ Yugi said. /Are you okay?/

Yes, aibou,he answered softly before shutting off the link.

For the rest of the ride, Yami just stared out the window. Seto watched him for a little bit. He could see that Yami was in pain. Unfortunately, he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

When they pulled up to the hospital, Yugi and Ryou were outside waiting for them. Seto was the first to get out and the two hikaris cried out when they saw Chaos in his arms. Ryou was immediately asking what had happened and if she was okay and followed Kaiba into the hospital.

'That should be Tazi following him,' Yami thought as he got out.

"Yami!" Yugi cried with joy as he ran to him and jumped into his arms, almost knocking them both to the ground. Yami caught him and held the boy tightly. He felt his ankle throb as the extra weight was added and clenched his teeth. Yugi wrapped his arms around his yami's neck and smiled happily. "I missed you so much," he whispered.

"I missed you too, aibou," Yami whispered back as he shut his eyes tightly. No matter how much he tried to let the warmth and joy of Yugi wash over him, he couldn't seem to replace that feeling.

"I love you, Yami," Yugi said softly. Yami just stared off into space over Yugi's shoulder. He wasn't sure if he'd ever really be the same again.

Alright. This is the next to last chapter. Well . . . really, I guess the next would apply as an Epilogue. And BTW. This last segment was not yaoi. Yami and Yugi are like brothers.


	14. epilogue

Chaos woke to find her eyes being blinded by the now familiar brightness of hospital lights. She tried to stretch, but found that one of her arms was in a sling. Her body felt exhausted. Slowly things began to put themselves into place and she realized why she was tired. Her shoulder was still hurting a little, but it felt like it was mending.

The young woman slowly propped herself up with her right elbow and looked around. She looked around and saw that a curtain was separating her from another patient to her left and the window was to her right. Knowing that it would be rude to intrude on the conversation on the other side, she simply let her mind wander.

She tried to think back to the warehouse, but part of it seemed kind of fuzzy. As hard as she tried, Chaos couldn't remember what happened exactly. There had been that fiend, and he had known her past . . . Chaos let herself fall back onto the bed and sighed heavily. So close . . .

Then, she heard the curtain being pulled back a little. "Look who decided to come back among the living," Yami said as he walked over with a small smile. Chaos looked at him with puzzlement. "You've been in a coma for three days." Chaos ran a hand through her hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Not bad," she confessed. Chaos looked up at Yami and saw that something was bugging him. She knew what it was. "It's alright," she whispered comfortingly. At first, he stared at the floor with wide eyes of disbelief. Yami then looked over at her with a forced smile, but it slowly became genuine. He mouthed a thanks. Chaos may have been all right, but something was still lingering in him.

"Open this stupid curtain, Pharaoh!" a voice shouted from the other side. Chaos laughed and Yami tore back the curtain. Bakura was in the bed on the other side and he looked as if he had been vexed from being separated from the others. Yami looked at the thief with a bemused smile.

"Bakura!" Chaos cried with a big smile. When Bakura saw that she was okay, he even gave a smile, a real one.

Yami felt the air around him grow warm and loving. Slowly, his despair slip away. He had a feeling things were going to be fine.

No sooner had the thought came to his mind, he found that Chaos and Bakura had gotten into one of their friendly little name calling sprees.

"Dorobo!" Chaos yelled as she stuck her tongue out at Bakura.

"Baka!" Bakura yelled back.

"Moron!"

"Gummy Bear thief!" Yami looked at them in confusion at that one.

"Bakayaro!"

Finally, Yami just turned and walked out. As he closed the door behind him, he could hear their shouting continue. Yami laughed to himself, shook his head, and smiled. Yes, things were going to be just fine.

Well, there you have it. The end of Draw Blood. Hope you've enjoyed it.Samurai-Angel, thank you for all your reviews! Not sure what I'm gonna do now . . . I have a couple songfics I've been working on . . . But any ideas anyone? Anything anyone would like to see me do? I also have an original story of if anyone's interested. It's under the same pen name, which seems impossible to locate all the time. v.v The storie's called "Drawn Curtain Comedy Endgame". Thanks for reading! And please go check out some of my other stories (which are all songfics, gomen) and leaves some reviews, 'kay?


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